On the Edge
by flossy.nubs
Summary: In his 16 years Albus has become an expert on living by the expectations and rules of others. However, in his 6th year at Hogwarts a run-in with the school bad boy Scorpius Malfoy will change the way he sees himself and teach him to live life, on the edge
1. Chapter 1

Albus caught one last glimpse of his parents' smiling faces before the train turned round the bend of the station and they disappeared from sight. Sighing Albus turned around and waded past the crowd of first years who had also been waving goodbye to their families. He continued down the long aisle of the Hogwarts Express attempting to find a compartment where he would be welcome. At the same time Albus was desperately hoping to avoid his brother. Unfortunately in such a condensed and crowded place avoiding someone was rather hard to do. Sure enough, a moment later Albus heard a familiar voice call out his name and turned to see his brother James poking his head out of a compartment a few feet away.

"Saying bye to mummy and daddy again were you little Alby" his brother asked in a voice that could only be considered mocking. Albus mumbled a quiet response. He wished he could just walk away, but ignoring James Potter tended to be more trouble than it was worth.

"Don't you think by sixth year you could leave for Hogwarts without having to be sent off by your parents?" his brother whispered loudly, making sure that everyone in his compartment, which had its door open, could hear him.

"Well gee, if only I could be as mature and cool as you James." Albus replied.

"I doubt that will ever happen Al," his brother said, patting him on the shoulder and ignoring Albus' blatant sarcasm. On second thought, perhaps he didn't even notice it in the first place. "But it's good to keep striving towards a goal." With that, and a little wave, which translated to 'now run along' James turned around and went back to his compartment, closing the door behind him.

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><p>Albus walked on, trying not to let the bad interaction with his brother ruin his day. Pushing and shoving his way through the crowded isle of the Hogwarts express, he peered into different compartments, hoping to eventually find a friendly face. Fortunately it wasn't too long before he found the compartment that his cousin Rosie was sitting in.<p>

"Hey, mind if I join you guys?" Albus asked, not bothering to wait for an answer. He walked into the compartment shutting the door behind him, stowed his bag and sat down across from his cousin.

"Albus!" she said, leaning over and giving him a big hug. "We were wondering when you would show up."

"Yeah, we were all shaking with anticipation." Jeremy Astor scoffed from the seat across.

"Well hello there Jeremy, it's always a pleasure." Albus replied. "Have a good summer?" Rosie sat back down next to Jeremy and he planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Well, since you asked, I did. Me and Rosie went to India with my family for two weeks, I'm sure you heard about it. We had a great time, didn't we love?" He casually draped his arm over Albus' cousin and leaned in for another kiss.

"I believe that would be Rosie and I... wouldn't it?" This comment deserved him a glare from his cousin's boyfriend as well as everyone else in the compartment. Looking around he gave a smile to the other sixth year Gryffindors sitting around him. There was Amy Teller, Grace Spencer, and Ian Carmichael. Combined with himself, his cousin and her obnoxious boyfriend, their compartment was completely full.

"Al, Jeremy... please don't start fighting already. Come on, can't we all just get along?" Rosie grabbed her boyfriend's hand in hers.

"Fighting? Who's fighting?" Albus replied innocently. "I'm gonna go track down the treat trolley. Anybody want anything? Amy, Ian?" Ian chose to tactfully ignore Albus while Amy replied with a faint, "I'm watching my weight."

"Of course you are Amy." Albus stood back up and opened the compartment door just enough to squeeze out. After the compartment door was tightly closed behind him Albus gave a large sigh of relief. Although those were the people he had shared a house, classes and even a room with for 5 years he felt more comfortable in a room filled with blast-ended skrewts. At least those things weren't capable of stinging sarcasm or hateful indifference.

Albus reached the trolley and got himself a couple chocolate frogs and cauldron cake for Rosie. Even though she hadn't asked for anything, he knew they were her favorites.

Making his way back to the compartment he couldn't help but hear the shrill and whiney voice of Amy Teller through the closed door as he neared. He stopped outside to listen.

"I just don't understand why you always let him sit with us. I mean, I know you're family, but he is soooooo rude to us. Like, he always acts like he's better than us even though everybody knows he hasn't got any friends." At this point Jeremy jumped in.

"It's true Rosie. I know you have been really close in the past, but let's face it. Albus is maturing much slower than the rest of us. Having him around does nothing except make us all uncomfortable."

"Seriously Rose," Ian chimed in, "I already have to share a room with the guy. I don't need any more angst in my life than that."

Finally Rosie spoke, defending her cousin. But even to Albus her words sounded weak and rehearsed. "Guys, he just had a really hard summer. I mean, James got head boy and quidditch captain. Albus took it a little hard you know? I'm sure he'll cheer up once we get to Hogwarts. He got a bunch of O's on his OWLs and I know he's excited about all the new classes he's taking." Even while trying to put a good spin on his situation, all his cousin had done was make him look like a whiney baby, who couldn't handle having a brother who was better than him. Albus couldn't take it anymore. He opened the door to the compartment quickly and sat down, before closing the door again.

The group got extremely silent, as if they had been caught committing some terrible crime, which in a way they had. When Albus didn't say anything, but instead opened his chocolate frog and bit off its head, they all seemed to relax a little. Rose even spoke, and asked him who was on the card that came with the candy.

"Belinda Wormsquirt. Oh, haven't gotten her in ages. Think I'll keep this one." He slid the card into his pocket and then held out the cauldron cake to Rose. "I got this for you."

Before she could even thank him Jeremy butt in on the conversation.

"A little late there Albus. I already got her a bunch as we got on the train. I don't think she really needs any more." Rose didn't say anything. She didn't even try to reassure Albus that she did like his gift. The smug look on Jeremy's face made Albus' blood boil.

"Oh, I'm sorry Jeremy. Are you insinuating that Rose shouldn't eat too many cakes? I mean that could send the wrong message, that perhaps you think she needs to watch her weight. That is a slippery slope my friend. I wouldn't dare go down that road if I didn't have to. I mean personally I think that Rose has a beautiful figure, but I know how you quidditch boys can be, so critical and-"

"ALBUS!" Rosie shouted at him, "Can I please talk to you outside?" Albus shrugged nonchalantly and followed his cousin out of the compartment. They got about 20 feet away before Rose turned on him with a glare.

"What was that Albus? Are you just trying to make everyone not like you?"

"I don't think I need to try Rose, I was outside of the compartment when you were all talking about me. I heard what they all said. I also heard how you barely defended me."

"You're making me wish I hadn't defended you at all! They are my FRIENDS Albus, and they could be your friends too, if you only tried to be nicer."

"Why on EARTH would I want to be friends with THEM? They're all jerks. You could do much better than all of them."

"Better? Like what? Like you? Albus you've been acting like a depressed loner since second year and I'm sick of it! You know I love you, but I love Jeremy too and if you can't be nice to him or my other friends than maybe you shouldn't be around us so much."

"Let me get this straight. You're kicking me out of your train group because I can't play nice with your asshole boyfriend?"

"ALBUS, EVERYTHING IS NOT ALWAYS ABOUT YOU!"

Her voice had been loud enough to quiet all of the students surrounding them and the silence that followed her outburst was a little more than uncomfortable.

"You're right Rose." Albus responded after a tense moment. "I'm starting to think nothing is." With that he turned away. A wave of his wand caused the compartment door to shoot open and his bag floated through the air and followed after him. Behind him he heard Rosie sigh and walk away, making no effort to follow him.

* * *

><p>Albus kept walking until he reached the very front of the train. Here, instead of compartments about 5 rows of seats lined the car. Very few people chose to sit here; most would have preferred cramming themselves into an over-full compartment, full of friends. Albus knew that by sitting here, alone too, everyone would think he was even more of an outcast. Sitting down, already receiving a glare from two girls who were sitting in the row across, he tried to convince himself that he didn't care what anyone thought. Even as the idea left his head he knew it wasn't true. There were three people at Hogwarts whose opinions he really did value. The first was his little sister Lily. She was the sweetest girl he could imagine and he loved her more than anything. He was always embarrassed when she had to see him like he was at school, some sort of loser or pariah. She deserved a better brother than that. Like James, Albus admitted bitterly, he was exactly the brother Lily deserved.<p>

Then there was Rose. Despite the fight they had just had Albus and Rose had been best friends since birth. He loved her so much, and that was part of the reason he couldn't stand to see her with a loser like Jeremy. He hated watching her slowly drift away from him as she spent more and more time with her new boyfriend and perhaps it did cause him to be a little hostile towards the guy, but it really wasn't anymore than the creep deserved. Albus felt bad that he had hurt Rosie's feelings, but honestly had no idea how to make up for what had happened. Well, besides apologizing to Jeremy. Fat chance. Eventually he knew Rose would come around and forgive him, she always did, but after what happened today he was worried that one day he might lose her forever.

The last person that Albus cared about at Hogwarts he could barely admit to himself. I mean, he had hardly talked to the guy. All he really knew about Scorpius Malfoy he had learned from gossip or rumors. They were in the same year so they always shared at least one class, but they had never even properly met. He didn't know what it was about the boy, but he always became very nervous when Scorpius was around. For some reason, out of all the students at Hogwarts Scorpius was the one he wanted to impress the most. There was just something about him that Albus found captivating. Although Albus never thought of himself as gay he had to admit that the thoughts he had about Scorpius did not belong in the mind of a straight boy. He tried not to worry about it too much, it wasn't as if he would ever have a shot with one of the most well-known and sought after boys in school. All Albus did know was one of the things that made Albus truly happy at school was watching Scorpius Malfoy.

When the train seemed to be a half hour off from Hogwarts, Albus went to the loo to change into his uniform. On his way back to his seat he passed the compartment that Rosie and her friends were sitting in. Although it was true that he didn't enjoy their company he did wish that he could sit with someone. Despite what most of the school's population seemed to believe, Albus didn't enjoy being alone, he just didn't have much of a choice. Sitting back down, Albus rested his head on the windowsill and slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>As the train came to a stop Albus was woken by the commotion of students leaving the train as quickly as possible. However, Albus couldn't seem to make himself get up. No one was around him and he started to imagine that he could just stay on the train, ride it back to London, make his way back to his house and not go to Hogwarts this year. Shaking his head he brought himself back to reality. His parents would just send him back to school anyways. Plus he would only create more trouble for himself at school. "Runway" was not another label that he needed. Albus stood up, grabbed his bag and walked down the isle until he reached the door.<p>

Walking out, he realized that getting off the train so late was not his best idea. The carriages that took students to Hogwarts were almost all gone, and the ones that were preparing to leave all looked full. All of a sudden a shout of "Albus" reached his ears and he turned to see his little sister waving at him from a carriage a few yards away. Relief and guilt washed over him simultaneously. As much as he didn't want to ride in a carriage alone, or worse, with a bunch of strangers, he didn't wasn't to impose on his little sister and her friends either. It was too late now though, he had already started to walk over, and Lily made a seat for him in the carriage. He sat down and greeted his sister.

"How was your train ride?" she asked him. Albus faked a smile and replied with a simple "fine". He looked around the carriage and nodded at its other inhabitants. He recognized two of the girls as Gryffindors in Lily year. The only one he knew by name was Abby Thomas, who was in Ravenclaw but had been best friends with Lily since they were babies.

"Hello Albus" Abby greeted him. Abby had been over at their house at least a dozen times during the summer and had even gone with his family to their beach cottage for a week.

"Hey Abby, how was your summer."

"It was nice, a little short though. I cant believe we are already going back to Hogwarts, and as fourth years, it seems crazy." The other girls in the carriage chimed in about how weird being fourth years was going to be. The next topic of discussion turned into how hot Lawrence Zewbone had gotten over the summer. At this point Albus removed himself from the conversation and spent the rest of the trip staring out the window, watching the scenery pass by.

The carriage pulled up to the castle in what seemed like record time. Albus jumped out of the carriage and held the door as the rest of the girls piled out. They all giggled and thanked him before running off after each other into the castle. Lily hung back and walked next to her brother.

"Thanks for letting me sit with you guys," Albus said awkwardly. "I hope it didn't annoy your friends."

Lily rolled her eyes and shoved her older brother lightly on the shoulder. "Shut up Albus." she laughed a little before continuing. "Those girls love having you around. They all think you're pretty hot."

"WHAT?" Albus practically yelped. This caused his sister to laugh even harder.

"Yeah, I mean, you have that whole, dark misunderstood thing going for you. Plus you are pretty good looking bro, you cant ignore it. You even grew over the summer!"

"Yeah, like an inch." Albus had always been self conscious about his height. All the boys in his year, and all the boys in his family towered over him. His cousin Hugo, who was only 13 had a good couple inches on him.

"Well, regardless, you are attractive Albus. Even as your sister I can realize that much." Albus just stared at his sister. Was she joking? Probably not, Lily wasn't the type to play mean jokes on Albus. He looked down at her. Lily was the good looking one. Even at fourteen she already had a mature yet sweet face. The kind of face that people just wanted to trust. Her copper hair was smoothed down and it lay on her shoulders, reminding him of his mother's. James hair was almost brown, less red, and Albus had jet black hair, like his father. Actually, many people thought Albus looked just like his father. They both had black hair and the same green eyes, even the same nose and chin apparently. Albus had heard it all before, but never had he been told that someone thought he was hot. As they approached the doors to the castle Albus decided not to think about it anymore. Even if Lily's friends did think he was cute, they weren't the ones he was trying to impress anyways.

"Albus, would you like to sit next to me at dinner?" Lily grabbed his hand and looked up at him.

"No, I think I'll sit with Rose. But thanks Lils." Lily stared at him, as if she could tell something was wrong. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Take care of yourself Alby, and don't forget that James and I are here when you need us." Albus almost laughed at the thought of James being there for him for anything. Instead he gave her hand one last squeeze and then walked into the great hall, looking for Rose and hoping that she wouldn't be mad at him anymore, or at least take pity on him and give him a seat.

* * *

><p>First chapter of my first fic! Phew! I know its a little wordy, but I would love any advice or comments you have.<br>Promise there will be lots of Albus/Scorpius drama later so stay tuned!


	2. Chapter 2

**News and Warning**: MacBook Pro for Christmas! I have a feeling this story is going to be updated much more frequently now ;) Also, I have faith that all of you can read but in case you missed the little "M" by the rating of this story, let's do a double take. There's lots of swearing and sexual stuff from this point on. Another big reason for the rating is the huge theme of teenage drinking and drug use. So please, no one be alarmed, or offended when that occurs. Sound good? Alright then, please enjoy!

* * *

><p>Scorpius Malfoy glanced around the Great Hall with a look of contempt. He was back at Hogwarts for another year and he didn't feel the least bit happy about it. After 5 years in the same castle he was no longer interested in the talking portraits or secret passages, he wanted to be done with all of the classes and other students. The only thing Scorpius really found any interest in at Hogwarts was sneaking out of it. Well, that and teasing the first years. He looked up to the front of the hall where a giant group of them stood waiting to be sorted. They looked tiny, and most looked nervous enough to wizz in their pants. Yes, he supposed that bullying them could keep him entertained for a couple weeks at the most, but after that he would be back to complete and utter boredom.<p>

"This year is gonna fucking suck." Andrew Chen said loudly.

So, it looked as if his best friend was of the same opinion. "My thoughts exactly Andy." Scorpius replied, "The real problem is what we are going to do about it."

"I suggest we get fucking wasted." supplied Jaysen Villacrow from across the table. Him and Andrew shared a laugh, while Tess Burke rolled her eyes. Scorpius looked over his group of friends with a smirk before his eyes landed on his other best friend, Stephanie Blanc. Her gaze seemed to be fixed on something across the hall. Wendy Damille, who was sitting next to Stephanie noticed the girl's stare as well.

"What on earth are you looking at Steph?" Wendy questioned.

Stephanie giggled in response but didn't look away from the scene in front of her.

"It's like a train wreck. I can't look away." Stephanie said quietly.

"What is it Steph?" Scorpius asked trying to get a look at what she saw. Then he did, and he agreed it was a little like a train wreck. Albus Potter was standing over the Gryffindor table talking to his cousin Rose. He hadn't sat down yet, which was starting to catch the attention of the other students. It seemed like Rose wasn't letting him sit, at least not with her. She kept frowning and pointing over at him, and her mouth was moving quickly like she was angry. Of course over the roar of the Great Hall no one could hear what she was saying, but a moment later when Albus starting frowning and talking quickly as well it was obvious that they were having a fight.

They continued for a few more moments, but the longer they talked; the more and more attention Albus was bringing to himself. He started to look uncomfortable, because people around him were beginning to stare.

"Merlin, she's kind of a bitch huh?" Sullivan Bole said after a few more moments of them fighting. "I mean, she knows he's embarrassed, why wont she just let him sit down? People can fight while sitting."

"Poor guy." Wendy added nodding towards Sullivan.

"Eh, you guys suck, I think its hilarious. Poor sod, I guess nobody does like him, not even his family." Jaysen supplied, snickering.

No one else said anything, but watched as Albus suddenly started to walk away, he walked all the way around the table, eyes watching him the whole way. The noise in the Great Hall had even quieted a little as students eagerly watched what was going to happen. When Albus had reached the other side of the table, directly across from his cousin Rosie, he was standing in front of Jeremy Astor. Now that he had gone to the other side of the table, Albus had his back to the Slytherins and they couldn't see the interaction between the two.

"Wonder what that's all about." Steph said, finally looking away and turning back to her friends.

"You mean you didn't hear Weasley screaming at him on the train?" Andrew asked, "Something about him being rude to her boyfriend."

"Oh, he sat down!" Wendy replied excitedly. "She must have made him apologize."

"Albus Potter, what a pathetic kid." Jaysen added.

"He really does let everyone walk all over him." Sullivan added.

"Hey! Scorpius, remember last year when we found out that he was obsessed with you?" Andrew asked with a laugh.

"What?" Wendy shrieked, "When did you think that?"

"We had charms with him and he literally stared at Scorpius for the whole class, everyday. Remember Scorpius?"

"Yeah, I remember." Scorpius replied, "It was weird."

"What, was he in love with you or something?" Jaysen asked in disbelief.

"Is that so hard to imagine Jayse?" Scorpius asked, "After all I am irresistible."

They all had a good laugh and a moment later the sorting began. Everyone quieted down as the first years were divided one by one into separate houses. Scorpius was rather uninterested in the whole show, but cheered half-heartedly with the rest of his friends whenever Slytherin received a new student. About half way through the ceremony Scorpius noticed that Andy wasn't cheering along with the rest of them. Looking to his left he saw that Andy wasn't even remotely paying attention to the sorting. Instead his friend was staring off into space, with an evil look in his eye. Bloody hell… Scorpius had seen that look before, and it was never a look he was very fond of. Andy was plotting something; something good by the look of it, and Scorpius somehow knew that what ever it was, it would involve himself. Because somehow Andy's plots always did involved Scorpius.

The sorting ended and the headmaster, Professor Saphed, gave a short speech about how education was the reason that they were all at Hogwarts and that they should take their classes and schoolwork seriously. But, that by no means should the year be boring, and that they should all be sure to have some fun along the way. Scorpius didn't mind Professor Saphed, he was a rather nice man, but he hadn't really been paying attention to the speech, too occupied with the thought of what his best friend was scheming. Sure enough as soon as the headmaster announced dinner was served, Andrew jumped in with an announcement of his own.

"Ladies and gents, fear no more, I have a plan to remedy the absolute boredom that would have been sixth year." Andrew sat there with a proud look on his face, waiting for someone to respond to his claim. Stephanie however was the only one of the group who decided to say anything.

"Here we go again."

* * *

><p>Scorpius lay in bed a few hours later with his mind racing. He had tried to fall asleep but just couldn't quite manage it. Andrew's announcement earlier, as he had feared, did include him. In fact, it centered around him.<p>

"Ruin Albus Potter" Andrew had said. That was the plan for the year. They would bring Albus into their circle of friends, using Scorpius who would pretend to like Albus, then they would just mess around with him. They would bring him to parties and watch him make a fool of himself. Get him drunk and send him off to make out with strangers. Maybe even break his heart, if he really was in love with Scorpius. He would be their little pet for the year, then when they got bored they could drop him, and let him go running back to his cousin and his sad little life. Scorpius didn't know why he had such a problem with this plan. All his other friends seemed okay with it. It wasn't as if they hadn't done this thing before, used people that is. In fact they did it all the time. He remembered in their third year when they convinced these Hufflepuffs that they could join their group if they went and spent the night in the Forbidden Forest. Well, there was a problem with some centaurs apparently, but the students got out of the hospital in less than a month. They didn't even tell on Scorpius and his friends. In fourth year they made the first years run down to the kitchens every night and get them all food. They even made them bring back a house elf once, then they made the house elf give Jaysen a foot massage. Fifth year had centered more around stealing things than using people. The sorting hat went missing for a few months before mysteriously appearing in the Ravenclaw common room one morning. All of the rubies in the Gryffindor house points counter vanished as well. No one ever found them, but they were at the bottom of the Black Lake. All of the brooms for the Hufflepuff quidditch team disappeared before their first game of the season. They were found the next day, splintered into pieces out behind the greenhouses.

The point is, Scorpius and his friends were mean. He knew it, they knew it, and they didn't really mind. They just liked to have fun, and every year they needed a new way to stay entertained, this year just happened to be Albus Potter. So why was Scorpius so nervous?

It wasn't the gay thing either. Scorpius was known around school as... well… maybe promiscuous was the right word. He had never been in a serious relationship but messed around with more girls than he could remember, boys too, although not as often. The first boy he had ever been with was Cullen Baddock, in his third year. Cullen had been in seventh year, was captain of the quidditch team, and utterly gorgeous. After the Slytherin team had won their first game of the season Cullen and Scorpius had both gotten drunk at the "celebration" in the common room, and made out. No one really minded (not much prejudice at Hogwarts nowadays) so Scorpius and Cullen had continued the casual relationship for the rest of the year. They never went farther then sucking each other's cocks, but Scorpius still remembered it fondly.

Over the summer Scorpius had sex with a guy for the first time. He had been wasted and this cute kid named Leo started flirting with him. One thing led to another and soon enough Scorpius had him naked and in a bed. He didn't really mind sex with a boy, it wasn't all that different from sex with a girl.

Regardless, Scorpius didn't mind wooing Albus Potter, if he was being honest with himself, he thought Albus was decent looking for a weird loner. There was something else that was holding him back from accepting Andrew's plan. Maybe he felt bad, using the guy.

Great, he thought rolling over in bed, sixth year and I decide to grow a bloody conscience. With that last thought he decided he could worry about it in the morning, and closed his eyes, at last falling asleep.

* * *

><p>Albus woke up early the next morning, eager to get up and go down to breakfast before any of his roommates. He hadn't spoken to Jeremy since his "apology" the night before, and based on the smug look the boy had been wearing since, he didn't want to. Although today was the first day of classes for the rest of the school the sixth years got the day off. They all needed the day to meet with the heads of their houses and decide, based on their O.W.L.s scores, which classes they could take this year. Since Albus' name was at the beginning of the alphabet, his meeting was early in the morning; yet another reason for his waking up before anyone else. Throwing off his pajamas he was about to put on his uniform when he stopped, spotting his reflection in the mirror across the room. Walking over he observed himself for a moment. He was pale and skinny, with no muscle to brag about. It hardly looked like he had reached puberty, with his lack of body hair. His toes looked funny, after that one time James had hexed them off, they never grew back quite right. His ears were kinda big; his hair was an awful mess. The only things Albus really did like about himself were his eyes. They were a bright, brilliant green, just like his fathers, only without glasses to hide them. Unfortunately, having beautiful eyes wasn't a very manly trait. Sighing, Albus walked back over to his trunk and got dressed. No matter what Lily, or her friends, said he knew he wasn't attractive. Albus had learned to accept it and didn't really mind, but by his sixth year Albus did hope that maybe someone could see past his looks, or his reputation and just like him for who he was. Looking around at his roommates before he left the dormitory his eyes landed on Jeremy. He remembered the night before how he had begged to sit with Rosie, and how everyone had laughed at him when he had to apologize to Jeremy.<p>

No, he decided, this year will be just as lonely as the last.

Turning, he left his room quickly and went down to the Great Hall to eat.

"Just lovely Albus!" Professor Longbottom told him after glancing at his O.W.L. results. "It looks like you can continue in any class of your choice." His head of house, and also close family friend beamed down at him, and Albus couldn't help but smile back.

"Now, you still want to be a curse-breaker I imagine?" Professor Longbottom asked.

"Of course professor!" Albus replied quickly, "That's all I want."

"Well, then I would recommend continuing in transfiguration, potions, charms of course, defense against the dark arts, history of magic, and probably ancient runes as well." Professor Longbottom continued, glancing down at a chart that showed all the O.W.L. classes, and their times.

"That leaves you with about seven free periods though… oh! Look, you could fit in herbology!" he said with a wink, "If you're interested."

"I'd love to professor." Albus said. And he was being honest. As much as Albus didn't like school, he loved the classes. Herbology was one of his favorites, even if it didn't really correspond with his future field of study.

"Well lovely. You'll have a pretty tight schedule most days, but on Tuesdays you don't have class until 11 and on Fridays you'll have no classes after lunch. Sound good?"

"That sounds fine Professor. Thank you very much" Albus was handed his schedule and he glanced at it for only a moment before folding it up and stowing it in his robes.

"There's one more thing Albus, if you have time." Professor Longbottom continued.

"Well, of course Professor, what is it?" Albus said.

"It's something that I have discussed with your parents and we all agree it could be good for you."

Albus became wary when he heard 'good for you', "What is it professor?" He asked.

"Well, your uncle Bill knows how interested you are in curse-breaking."

"Of course, we talk about it all the time. He has loads of stories from the time he worked in Egypt."

"Right, well he has some contacts that are looking for help over the summer and he proposed that you could go, sort of like an internship, a… practicum, if you will."

Albus didn't reply for a moment and his professor looked up, interested in the boy's reaction. He chuckled a little to himself when he saw that Albus' jaw had literally dropped.

"Yo-you mean it professor? Really?" Albus asked slowly.

"Of course Albus. Harry and Ginny and I think it would be great for you. You would have to keep your grades up of course, and stay out of trouble, but I doubt that would be a problem for you. If you're interested I'll contact the appropriate people this week and let them know."

"Of course Professor!" Albus said excitedly, "Of course I want to go! Where is it? How long? When can I leave?"

Longbottom chuckled again by how excited his student was. He had always like Albus Potter, and this was why. The boy had a good heart, and was a hard worker. He deserved this trip, and Neville decided he would do whatever he could to make it happen for Albus.

"It's in Saudi Arabia. You would probably leave a week or two after term gets out, and it would probably last for at least a couple months. That's a long time to be away from your family Albus."

"Somehow I think I can manage." Albus replied with a grin. Professor Longbottom grinned back.

"Well it's settled then, I'll write your parents, and your uncle and let you know when there are more details."

"Thank you so much Professor. This is so amazing, I can't wait!"

"It's my pleasure Albus. I'll see you tomorrow for herbology."

"Bye Professor!" Albus called walking out.

Once he had left the room Albus couldn't restrain himself. He jumped up in the air and laughed out loud, he even skipped down the hallway for a few paces, before catching himself. Luckily no one was around to see. Saudi Arabia! He was going to go to Saudi Arabia! He had read a book on Middle Eastern curse-breaking over the holidays. There were genies and tombs all hidden under the sand. Some things had been trapped down there for thousands of years! Screw James, and screw stupid Jeremy Astor. He was going to Saudi Arabia! He started to run back down to the Great Hall, hoping that his cousin Rose would be there. He knew that she was still a little mad at him for the day before, but she wouldn't be after she heard! He knew she would understand his excitement and join in with him, no one understood Albus' love for curse-breaking better then Rosie. He continued to run down the hall, grinning like an idiot. He was aware of the weird looks that people passing by were giving him, but for once he didn't even care.

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><p>"Have a good summer?" Scorpius asked. Isabella nodded back vigorously. Well, at least it looked like she was nodding. Her head was bobbing up and down, but that could have been simply because she was sucking on his dick. A moment later Scorpius got a real answer, when she stopped to take a breath, and replied to his question with a breathy, "Fine, you?" before descending again on his crotch.<p>

"It was nice. My parents took me to France for a few weeks to visit my grandparents." Isabella gave a little hum of acknowledgment, which felt amazing to Scorpius. He didn't have the best of mornings. Right before lunch his meeting with his head of house had gone terribly. He had done dreadfully on all of his O.W.L.s, probably because he had been drunk for a few of them. Professor Birgmout had yelled at him, saying that at this rate he would have no future, and that he had royally fucked up his life. Well, maybe she didn't phrase it like that, but it had been pretty harsh. Only by bending the rules and consulting a few teachers had she been able to get him into transfiguration. Defense against the darks arts and potions he had actually done well enough to get into, but herbology, charms, history of magic and muggle studies were no longer options for him. He didn't really mind, he hated all of those classes anyways. The only thing was now he had to take shit courses to get a full schedule. Divination, with some fucking centaur, and care of magical creatures, with that fat, hairy grounds keeper. He had needed to get his mind off of things so during lunch he found Isabella Swane, seventh year Gryffindor, and invited her to an abandoned classroom. She agreed, and when they entered the room, and locked the door, she immediately had dropped to her knees and started kissing his fully clothed crotch. She was more of a slut than he had even remembered. He wasted no time getting right to it, hoping that she was better than he remembered too, and she was.

Scorpius felt himself getting close to the end, so he reached forward and grabbed Isabella's head, pulling it down harder on his cock. He thrust lightly once into her mouth and then came in the back of her throat. She didn't seem to mind, and swallowed it, before pulling away, and wiping her mouth on her sleeve.

Scorpius grabbed his pants and pulled the back on, before Isabella sat down on his lap.

"Bad day?" she asked.

"You have no idea." Scorpius replied wrapping his arms around her waist. She leaned back onto his chest. On top of his horrid schedule, Andy had already started pestering Scorpius about how to get Albus. That was another reason he had invited Isabella for this little rendezvous. She was a Gryffindor after all; she must know something about her fellow housemate.

"Isabella, can you tell me what you know about Albus Potter?" Scorpius asked her.

"I guess… what do you want to know?"

"Well, why does everyone seem to hate him?" Scorpius decided that was the most important question on hand.

"You mean you don't remember? Your sorting? When he was crying?" she asked surprised.

"Well yeah, but that cant be why."

"That was definitely the start. His brother James, who is in my year, started telling us all that Albus wanted to get into Slytherin and he was so disappointed that he started crying. Can you imagine? What a freak."

"So you believe it?" Scorpius asked surprised. How could anyone believe a story like that?

"Well sure, I mean look at the kid. He just sits by himself and studies all the time. It's obvious he shouldn't be in Gryffindor."

"He sounds more like a Hufflepuff than a Slytherin to me." Scorpius said dryly. Isabella giggled and nodded.

"Well who does he hang out with? And what's the deal between him and Jeremy Astor?" Scorpius continued, eager for more.

"He doesn't really hangout with anyone besides his cousin Rose. Her friends all hate him I think. Jeremy is dating Rose and he hates Albus because he thinks Rose spends too much time with her weirdo cousin. Poor Rose, she's too nice for her own good." Isabella finished and started sucking on Scorpius' neck. Scorpius was thinking about what he had just been told. So, Albus was just as lonely and pathetic as he looked. He definitely would have no problems swaying the boy to hang out with them then. There was still the matter of whether Scorpius actually wanted to or not though. Either way, he should probably go talk to Andy, Steph and the whole group about it. Gently pushing Isabella off his lap he said goodbye and kissed her on the cheek before standing up and heading for the door.

"Wait!" Isabella said, "Scorpius, wha- I mean, well, what are we?"

He turned and looked at her amused. "What ever do you mean dear?"

"Well we did this and some… other things a few times last year. I just mean, well, do you want to start dating?"

Scorpius wanted to laugh, but instead tried to be polite. "I don't date, sorry. And, well even if I did, I don't think you're really my type." He replied, smirking slightly.

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

So much for polite, Scorpius thought, but she was asking for it. "Don't take this the wrong way Isabella. I'm not trying to say that you're a whore. Well, let me just put it this way. If your vagina had a password, it would be password."

And with that he walked out of the room, and headed down to the Slytherin common room in search of his friends.

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><p>Let me know what you think :)<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Snow day from school= Fanfic day (after some sledding and a snowman of course) Sorry about the slow updates, hopefully the next chapter won't take a month! Enjoy.

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><p>Down in the Great Hall Hugo Weasley was about to bite into a delicious turkey sandwich when he saw his cousin run in. Now, this wasn't exactly unusual for Hugo. He had plenty of cousins at school with him and he usually saw handful of them everyday.<p>

However, when Albus ran in with a huge grin on his face Hugo was shocked. Hugo liked Albus, he really did. Albus was a good cousin. He never told on his cousins when they snuck out or broke the rules. Albus was the most trustworthy of them all. He never did anything wrong, and all the parents trusted him. At the same time though… Albus was different. He got along with all his cousins but never really fit in with them. When they were little Albus always cried when they kicked gnomes around the garden at gran's house. Even now, he never played quidditch with the rest of them claiming he was no good at it. Well that never stopped Rose, and she was truly horrible.

Hugo continued to watch Albus as he frantically looked around. A moment later their eyes met and Albus grinned and ran over to his cousin.

"Hugo!" he said, before stopping in front of the group of 5th year boys.

"Hey Albus," Hugo greeted, trying to keep cool. I mean sure, they didn't usually talk in school, but Albus was still his cousin, there was no reason not to talk to him.

"Do you know where Rosie is? I have to talk to her."

"I saw her leave about 10 minutes ago. I would assume she is going to the common room. Have you looked there?"

Albus shook his head quickly, and yelled out a thanks as he ran away and back out the doors of the Great Hall.

"What the hell was that about?" one of his friends asked him a moment later.

"No clue." Hugo replied, shrugging it off. In his head though, he couldn't shake a weird feeling. Albus wasn't really depressed, over the summer he laughed and smiled and got angry at his brother, just like normal. But at school he always seemed washed out. He was quiet and hardly spoke to anyone except Rose, like he had no confidence. Whatever had happened must have been really good, but Hugo hoped that whatever it was would last, because Albus tended to be very… _fragile_. Oh well, he reasoned, he could always ask his sister about it later. Hugo decided to forget about his cousin for now and turned his attention back to his friends and his neglected turkey sandwich.

* * *

><p>In no time at all Albus reached entrance to the Gryffindor common room.<p>

"Jellyleach" he said to the portrait of a particularly rotund woman. Nodding, she swung her picture aside and allowed him entrance into the common room. As soon as he entered he saw Rosie and her friends all sitting on an overstuffed couch, relaxing by the fire.

"Rosie!" he said loudly, drawing her attention. All three girls turned their heads and Amy promptly rolled her eyes and turned her head back around in disgust. Rosie gave him an exhausted look.

"What is it Albus?" she asked, in a voice that matched the exhausted look.

"I have something really exciting to tell you!" He said walking over until he was right in front of her.

"Well, go on then." She replied. Albus looked around at Amy's angry face and Grace's disinterested one.

"I was hoping I could talk to you alone." He said, suddenly feeling vulnerable. He didn't want to talk about it in front of those girls. This was his dream, what if they made fun of him?

"Albus, I'm hanging out with my friends, okay? So you can either say what you want to say or we can talk about it later." Rosie stated in a superior voice. Amy gave an approving nod.

"Well alright then." Albus shrugged, and moved to sit down next to her. With a small grin he started his story, "I went to get my class schedule this morning-"

"Oh! Big news!" Amy interrupted. Grace giggled.

"And Professor Longbottom had something else to tell me." He continued, not letting Rose's friends get to him. "He talked to uncle Charlie and got me a sort-of internship working in Saudi Arabia with curse breakers!" he couldn't stop himself from laughing a little, he still couldn't believe it was real!

"You're going to Saudi Arabia?" Rose asked.

"Yeah! Isn't that amazing?"

"Wait, when?" Amy asked, suddenly interested.

"At the end of the school year, during the summer." Albus replied.

"Oh, too bad." Grace added. "If only you were leaving now we wouldn't have to deal with you anymore." Amy laughed, but Albus was watching Rose's expression. It didn't change at all, she didn't even react.

"The feeling is mutual, Grace." Albus replied angrily. Rose still didn't react.

"Don't get us wrong Albus we'll miss you tons. But, just the idea of you spending all your time in a desert digging through dirt, wow I mean we wouldn't want you to miss out on that great opportunity." Amy snorted.

Albus was furious, he knew this would happen. He knew that they would ruin his perfect news, before he knew it he was standing, and yelling.

"Just because some of us have dreams beyond getting pregnant by some rich guy and living off him and doing nothing for the rest of your life, doesn't mean they aren't worthy of your approval Amy."

Well, that sure got Rose's attention. She had stood up too, and put a hand on his arm. "Go away Albus." She said sternly. Albus felt all his anger leave as he looked into the face of his best friend

"Rosie, you didn't even say anything. Aren't you excited at all? Don't you even care?" he said quietly.

"We'll talk about it later Albus, but only if leave us alone now." She said letting go of him and sitting back down.

"But Rosie…"

"Albus, GO. And you if you plan on treating my friends like that ever again, you might as well never talk to me again." She turned her head to the side, ignoring him, and making it clear that their conversation was done.

Albus turned to go and felt tears rising to his eyes. He walked quickly to the staircase leading up to his dormitory and started to climb. By the time he reached the door tears were streaming down his face. He reached to open the door, but the handle moved on its own, and a second later the door opened, with Jeremy standing in the other side. He stared at Albus for a second, before his face broke into an evil grin.

"Well good morning Albus, I see you're doing well." He pushed past Albus laughing and walked down the stairs. Albus entered the room, and noticed that it was now empty. He let himself go, and his silent tears turned into loud sobs. He flopped down on his bed and pulled the curtains closed around him.

Closing his eyes, Albus tried to clear his head of the last ten minutes. He tried to imagine that Rose still liked him, and that she wasn't dating Jeremy, and that he got even a little bit of respect from anyone in this whole school.

When that didn't work, Albus buried his head in his pillow, and imagined that he was in Saudi Arabia.

* * *

><p>Scorpius walked out the large oak doors that served at the main entrance to Hogwarts and felt the sun instantly warm him with a rich yellow glow. It was September, which meant autumn was on the way, but it sure hadn't arrived. The grounds were covered with students sun bathing, and sitting around chatting. Scorpius walked on for a while until he saw the familiar faces of Jaysen and Andrew.<p>

He walked over, threw off his cloak and sat down. "Hey." He greeted sullenly.

"Well if it isn't Mr. Poutypants." Jaysen said with a grin. "Why the long face?"

"Jayse, if you say that ever again I'm gonna kick you in the nuts." Scorpius replied.

"Bad meeting with the Birgmout?" Andy asked giving his friend a supportive pat on the shoulder.

"You have no fucking clue." Scorpius said, laying down and throwing a hand up over his eyes.

"So, what's the damage?" Andy continued, laying down next to his friend.

"Transfiguration, defense, potions, divination and care of magical fucking creatures." Scorpius practically spat.

"Dude, that's better than me." Jaysen whined, "I have to take fourth year astronomy AGAIN."

"Its not our fault your such a dumb-ass." A new voice added to the conversation. Scorpius looked up and saw Tess and Stephanie standing over them.

"No exam should be in the middle night." Jaysen whined, "How is anyone expected to stay awake?"

"Well somehow every fourth year does it, except for you that is." Scorpius deadpanned.

"Where have you both been?" Andrew asked the two new members of their group.

"Tess just finished her meeting, I waited for her." Stephanie answered. She sat down next to Scorpius, and ruffled his hair. "I take it your meeting didn't go too well. Instead of answering Scorpius just groaned again.

The next ten minutes were spent sharing, and then vehemently complaining about their classes for the next year. Scorpius felt much better when he discovered that most of his friends had failed the majority of their OWLs as well, and that he would not be alone in either Divination or Care of Magical Creatures.

"Look on the bright side," Stephanie said after they had all their complaints out, "We will have a lot less homework, so we can hang out more this year."

"When has homework ever stopped us?" Jaysen said with a laugh, and they all joined in.

Now that they were almost all together Scorpius remembered why he had been looking for his friends in the first place.

"I worked on our little project today." Scorpius said.

"Albus Potter?" Tess asked, "I got the impression that you weren't too excited about that idea."

"Yeah well I found out some stuff about him today, and I think it will be very entertaining." Scorpius said with a small smirk.

"Some stuff huh? And where did this information come from?" Stephanie said with a knowing smile.

"I had a little meeting with Isabella Swane, she was very friendly and more than willing to tell me about her housemate." Steph and Tess both rolled their eyes while Jaysen and Andy both grinned at him.

"Nice work. She's so hot." Jaysen said sounding a little jealous.

"Yeah, she's also pretty fucking needy. Asked me if I wanted to be her boyfriend." Scorpius laughed.

"Yikes, you better stay away from her for a while. I heard she can be kind of crazy." Tess said.

"Alright, enough about some slut, I want to know what she said about Albus." Andy interrupted.

Scorpius quickly recalled everything she had said about Albus Potter to his friends.

"Huh. Although families are usually the people you can count on, it seems that Potter is continually being screwed over by them." Sullivan said from behind them when Scorpius finished. Everyone in the group jumped, and Jaysen yelled out.

"What the fuck man!" Jaysen said a moment later. "Don't DO THAT!"

"Seriously," Tess added, "Haven't we talked about sneaking up on us, its really creepy."

"Well I didn't want to interrupt Scorpius' story." Sullivan explained, sitting down in their circle. "Next time I will announce my presence."

Scorpius shook his head, he liked Sullivan a lot, but the guy was still pretty fucking weird.

"So, what do we do now, about Albus I mean." Steph said, trying to stay on topic.

"I mean, the guy has no friends, right? All we really should have to do is ask him to hang out with us, and he should jump at the chance. He'd probably do whatever we say." Tess concluded, "Easy."

"Bleh," Andy complained, "I don't want easy, it's no fun."

"This was your idea." Steph reminded him, "Besides he's still a Potter, I have a feeling this will be a lot of fun."

"Ugh, if we are gonna keep talking about this, can we go get lunch? I'm starving!" Jaysen got up and brushed grass off of his pants.

"Yeah, me too. Come on." Tess said, standing. A moment later they were all up and heading back towards the castle.

"Oh, Sullivan, you never told us how your meeting went." Stephanie asked.

"Fine," he replied, "I got O's on everything, so it was a very short meeting. Birgmout seemed surprised I think."

"WHAAAAT?" Jaysen yelled theatrically, "Fuck you man!"

Yeah, Scorpius decided, all his friends were fucking weird.

* * *

><p>Albus woke up and no one was left in the dormitory when he finally got up. He had purposely stayed in bed until they were all gone, because he didn't want to have to talk to any of them. The only problem was that now he was late for class, his first class of the year, perfect. Quickly he got dressed, ran his fingers through his hair a few times, and didn't even bother brushing his teeth. He grabbed his books for his first couple classes and headed down to the Great Hall to grab some breakfast.<p>

About five minutes later he was walking out of the castle with a bagel in hand. His first class was Herbology and he still had about 10 minutes until it started. He smiled, as he took a bite out of his bagel, today was turning out to be better than accepted.

No sooner had he thought that then someone walked right into him. His bagel flew out of his hand and landed on the wet grass. Glaring, Albus turned to look at the person who had cost him his breakfast. As soon as their eyes met, Albus' glared melted away.

Scorpius Malfoy.

He tried to say something but no words came out, the only thing he could think of was, why the hell didn't I brush my teeth?

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><p>Let me know what you think :)<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Finals week is officially over :)) I thought I would celebrate with a new chapter. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one. It's really long and kind of a mash up of a bunch of ideas, so give me any suggestions or comments you have! Enjoy!

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><p>That morning, for the first time in awhile, Scorpius got up early. He went into the bathroom, took a hot shower, and got dressed. It was rare for Scorpius to be up early, not that he loved sleep so much, but simply because there was never really anything worth waking up for, especially at Hogwarts. However, today was different.<p>

After he had finished washing up in the bathroom he came back to the dormitory and found that one of his roommates was actually awake. Trey Graves was the final member of their dorm and although Scorpius and Trey had never been close friends Scorpius liked being roommates with him all the same. He was a nice guy and let them get away with a lot. For the last two years Trey had been a prefect, but didn't seem to take the role very seriously.

"Mornin' Mert." Scorpius greeted the boy playfully. Trey rolled his eyes with feigned annoyance. Trey's full name was Merton Graves III, named after both his father and grandfather. Surprisingly enough he wasn't too fond of the name Merton, and chose to go by Trey. This of course meant that Scorpius was overly fond of Merton, and snuck it into conversation with the boy as much as possible.

"Hey Scorpius." He replied.

"Have a good summer?" Scorpius asked, sitting down on his bed.

"Alright." Trey responded, "My dad had this reunion tour for that band of his, and I tagged along for a few weeks. It got too awkward though. He's waaay to old to be wearing leather pants and ripped up robes rocking out on a stage. Reliving the glory days was how he explained it. I went home after 3 shows."

Trey's dad had been in a band that was popular back when his parents were at Hogwarts. Apparently they were a pretty big deal; his dad had an album of theirs. They were called "The Weird Sisters" even though they were all male. They also all looked homeless when they preformed. Regardless, Trey and his family were pretty wealthy because of it, so Scorpius didn't judge.

"How was your summer?" Trey continued.

"Fine." Scorpius answered.

"I notice you're up early today." Trey added.

"I notice you are too." Scorpius countered.

"Prefects meeting. I'll probably off myself halfway through. I hear James Potter is head boy, which means he'll be leading it. I don't know anyone who enjoys the sound of their own voice as much as James Potter, so I'll be in for a rough morning." Scorpius snickered in response, but didn't say anything, so Trey continued, "What are you up to?"

"Oh, nothing. I just couldn't sleep." Scorpius replied with a nonchalant wave of his hand. Trey shot him a look that told Scorpius he didn't buy it for a second.

"Well, have fun then." Trey smirked, "And try not to get a detention on the second day." With that Trey walked out of the room and let the door shut behind him.

As soon as the door shut, Scorpius got back up and walked over to Andrew's bed. He shook the mound under the blankets, which grunted slightly.

"Wake up Andy." Scorpius said. The mound grunted again but didn't move.

"Andrew!" Scorpius said more loudly. This time a mumbled 'what' came from the mound.

"We have to get down to the Great Hall soon if we are going to catch Albus Potter during breakfast." When he got no response he grabbed his wand and flicked it in Andy's direction. A moment later his sheets flew up and stuck themselves to the ceiling, revealing his best friend still half asleep on his bed.

"What the FUCK?" Andrew yelled out, sitting up.

"Come on. We have to go down early if we are going to find Potter before he goes to class."

"Scorpius, no one gets up this early."

"Sure they do, you know those goody two shoes types, they think waking up early is the key to success in life. What's that saying? Early to bed, early to rise. Eat a good breakfast, don't judge on size. Something like that…"

"Dude that is not a fucking saying." Andrew grumbled, pulling his pants on.

"Yeah well it's something like that." Scorpius replied unconcerned.

"Will you too shut the fuck up!" A voice called from across the room.

"Oh no, did we wake wittle Jaysen fwom his wittle nap?" Andrew shouted across the room. "Boo fuckin hoo"

"Fuck you." Came the weak response.

Andrew finished dressing and grabbed his wand. "Alright, let's go." He said.

They walked towards the door and were just about to go out when Andrew turned around and pointed his wand in the direction of Jaysen's bed. A purple spark shot directly on Jaysen's covers and Andrew quickly closed the door behind them.

From the other side of the door they still heard a loud scream, and then the words "FUCK YOU ANDREW!" being shouted.

Andrew and Scorpius kept laughing all the way down to the Great Hall.

* * *

><p>Fifty-two minutes later no one was laughing.<p>

"Get out of bed you said. He'll eat breakfast early you said. Well Scor, WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?" Andrew shouted.

"Andy, I don't appreciate the outburst. It's not as if this is my fault. He usually gets up early and sits by himself."

"Yeah well class starts in 10 minutes, so we missed him. Maybe he skipped breakfast."

"Andrew, you know nothing about Gryffindors. They don't skip breakfast. If they don't get 3 full meals everyday they refuse to function and throw big fits. They are a finicky bunch." Tess added.

"Thank you Tess," Scorpius said politely, "See I told you Andrew, he'll be here."

"Maybe he's just running late," Wendy added before taking a big bite of toast. They all shrugged.

Scorpius and Andrew's stake out in the Great Hall had been entertaining for all of 10 minutes. Later, at a reasonable time to get up Tess, Wendy and Steph had joined them. The girls had refreshed their energies for the search, but once the Hall started to empty and Albus was still absent everyone became frustrated.

"At this point, I could care less whether he shows up or not. I'm bored. Let's go to the forest and cut our losses for the day." Andrew stood.

"Oh come on, we've waited this long. I'm sure he'll come." Scorpius said.

"Well, how about this then. We'll go, and you wait here." Andrew said starting to walk away. "When you find him, come join us."

Everyone else had stood up too and they were all walking away.

"Bye Scorpius!" Wendy called.

"Good luck Scor." Steph laughed.

Once Scorpius was alone he looked up at the large clock hanging on the far wall. It was 8 minutes till classes started, where the hell was Potter? Wendy could have been right; maybe he was just running late and went straight to class. If that were the case Scorpius' best bet would be to just head him off on the way to his class. After a little more snooping the night before he had figured out that Albus Potter's first class for the day was Herbology.

Sighing Scorpius stood up and stretched his arms above his head before starting off for the greenhouses.

Once Scorpius reached the Greenhouses, he peeked his head through the window. The room was full of sixth years, and he recognized all of them, however Albus Potter was not among them. Swearing, Scorpius started walking back towards the castle. His friends had told him to meet in the forest, but there was no way he was going there without Potter, that would mean he had failed. Swearing again he started walking faster. He saw someone up ahead, but he was in such a foul mood he didn't even move aside, he walked right into the kid knocking something out of his hand.

Now normally Scorpius would have just walked on, and whomever he had bumped would have been too terrified of Scorpius to do anything. However, a split second before walking into the guy Scorpius had gotten a look at his face. A split second after that his brain registered what it was that he had seen.

Looks like he had found Albus Potter.

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><p>Immediately turning to face Potter Scorpius got a good look at Albus' face as he recognized Scorpius. His eyebrows, which had been set downward and his lips, which had been in a scowl, both softened. His eyes grew wide and his cheeks colored a tiny bit. Scorpius collected himself instantly and threw the boy a smile.<p>

"Sorry about that. Looks like you dropped your breakfast." Scorpius hunched to pick up the bagel that Albus had dropped and inspected it.

"S'alright." Came the mumbled reply. Albus held his hand out to take the bagel but Scorpius tossed the pastry over his shoulder.

"No, can't have you eating that. Germs and such." Scorpius said giving the boy a wink. Albus didn't seem to know how to react to that comment, so he simply dropped his hand back at his side and started to stare at the books in his arms.  
>When the boy didn't say anything Scorpius decided to continue. "You're running a little late today huh?" He asked keeping a good-natured smile plastered on his face.<p>

Albus finally looked up and met Scorpius' gaze again. "Oh, right. Yeah, I have to go." He started to move to go around Scorpius, but stopped as a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

"What's the hurry? Isn't Professor Longbottom in love with you? You could be a few minutes late, besides I was hoping I could talk to you." Scorpius still had his hand on Albus' shoulder and he felt it stiffen as he said the words.

"What?" Albus asked almost at a whisper, "Why?"

"Well, we're in the same year and I don't think we've ever talked. Me and my friends are spending this period in the Forbidden Forest, and we wanted you to join us."

Scorpius dropped his hand off of Albus' shoulder and the boy turned around.

"What?" he asked again even more quietly.

"What do you say? You wanna come?" Scorpius asked sticking his hands in his pockets. He watched as Albus' face grew more and more pink, and grinned. He already knew what the answer would be.

* * *

><p>Albus Potter had never thought about dying very much. He sure wasn't very happy with his life at Hogwarts but he was never thought that death would solve any of his problems. That of course was before his run in with Scorpius Malfoy. Every second that passed, with Scorpius talking to him and Albus just standing like some sort of mentally handicapped troll, made him wish for death more than anything else.<p>

It probably would have helped if Scorpius were at least a dick about the whole thing. If he had said, "get out of my way", or "watch where you're going!" then Albus could have felt miserable and gone to class. But no, Scorpius had to talk to him. He had to be friendly and charming. He had to smile and wink and chuckle. And when he laughed Albus saw his teeth, and he knew that Scorpius had brushed those teeth, and that made Albus feel like an unhygienic mentally handicapped troll. Albus wished for death to simply save himself from the embarrassment.

Then his escaped arrived.

"You're running a little late today huh?" Scorpius asked him.

YES! I am running late, Albus reminded himself. I have to go. I have to go to class and get away from you because I can't talk to you because I think you are more attractive than I should and because I didn't brush my teeth, and you did and I can tell because they look great, just like the rest of you.

"Oh yeah, right, I have to go." He said trying to sound calm, but realizing that he sounded frantic. He turned and took at step and seriously considered running away when he felt a hand on his shoulder. If his mouth hadn't been closed a squeak would have come out. His brain tried to fathom that Scorpius Malfoy was touching him, and then he tried to tell himself that he shouldn't care that Scorpius was touching him.

"…hoping I could talk to you."

Albus' heart stopped beating. Before he even knew he had asked why. It was all his head could think about. Why in the world would Scorpius Malfoy want to talk to him?

"My friends…. Forbidden Forest… wanted you to come."

At this point Albus had to turn around, to make sure that Scorpius was actually still there, that he wasn't just imagining all of this. He felt the hand leave his shoulder and he looked into the face of Scorpius Malfoy. Not, his best idea. His mind went blank again, and he managed another "what?"

"What do you say? You wanna come?"

"Do I want to come?" Albus repeated. It took him a moment to realize he had said it out loud. Scorpius just grinned at him with his white, polished, and recently brushed teeth.

Did he want to? Scorpius and his friends were notorious for causing trouble and bullying people. He could be walking into some sort of prank. He looked up at Scorpius again. His smile was so nice. Albus tried to remember the last time someone who wasn't related to him had smiled at him and told him that they wanted him to come to something. Albus never felt wanted. He never felt important. But for some reason Scorpius made Albus feel very important.

"Ok. Sure." Albus replied.

"Great, come on." Scorpius gesturing in the direction they were headed.

Maybe it was a prank, Albus thought, but being pranked was better than being ignored.

* * *

><p>Albus and Scorpius started walking towards the edges of the Forbidden Forest, and Albus found himself starting to lag behind. His mind was still racing, trying to figure out what Scorpius wanted with him, and also trying to comprehend why he had said yes to this little venture in the forest. Scorpius seemed to notice Albus' pace and slowed to match it. Now that they were side-by-side Albus couldn't prevent himself from looking at Scorpius.<p>

Albus' first thought was how much taller Scorpius was than him; a good four or five inches. He definitely had grown over the summer. Because of his height Albus' eyes were in line with Scorpius' neck, which featured a very conspicuous hickey. Blushing slightly, Albus looked away from the large red mark and started to examine Scorpius' face instead. Albus had to admit that Scorpius' profile was very attractive. His hair, which was cut only a little longer than Albus' own hair, was bright yellow and shining in the sunlight. His face seemed even more sculpted than it had been at the end of last term. His high cheekbones gave his face a very regal look, which was reinforced by his strange blue-grey eyes, which made him look slightly apathetic but also extremely handsome.

The only thing that seemed to not match his serious and regal demeanor was his nose. It wasn't thin or long, but instead was rounded and slightly turned up on the end and even had a few freckles dotting it and spilling onto his cheeks. Albus had to wonder if Scorpius had inherited those traits from his mother's side. While they weren't typical Malfoy looks, they made a look that was uniquely Scorpius and drew Albus in despite his attempts to convince himself that he wasn't the least bit attracted to Scorpius in _that_ way.

Albus' scrutiny of Scorpius' face was quickly interrupted when Scorpius turned his head and met Albus' gaze. A smirk graced the blonde's lips and Albus knew he had been caught staring. He quickly directed his eyes to the line of trees that were in front of him. They had walked across the entire Hogwarts' grounds to the edge of the forest and Albus' hadn't even noticed. Well, as the saying goes: time flies when you are staring at extremely handsome boys.

"Nervous?" Scorpius asked still smirking.

Albus could feel a blush rising to his cheeks, and he tried to suppress it to no avail. "I've been in there before." He replied nodding towards the forest.

"Wonderful, let's go." Scorpius continued walking. Albus hesitated before following. What he hadn't told Scorpius was that the last, and only time that Albus had been in the forest he had been blindfolded by his brother and then deserted. He wandered aimlessly for hours, until finally he started crying loud enough that Hagrid heard him and came to his rescue. No, it was probably best to keep that to himself. However, Albus took extra care in looking around, unless Scorpius' plan was similar to what James did. This time hopefully, he would have a chance of finding his way back.

It wasn't long at all until Scorpius slowed down and Albus heard voices from a few feet away. Scorpius pulled out his wand and tapped what looked like an overgrown shrub. The shrub's branches quickly grew to form an archway, which Scorpius promptly walked through. Albus followed behind him quickly, afraid the shrub might close back up leaving him alone outside.

As soon as he passed through the archway the shrub did indeed close behind him. However Albus was more interested in the people who sat in front of him. Someone had summoned three large couches and one overstuffed armchair into the small clearing, which he noticed was completely inaccessible from the outside now that the arch was gone.

Sitting on the couches, Albus recognized almost all of the sixth year Slytherins. On one couch Stephanie Blanc, Wendy Damille and Tess Burke all sat closer together with bored expressions. Andrew Chen and Jaysen Villacrow sat on another, although they seemed to be arguing about something. Sullivan Bole was sprawled out on the remaining couch, and Albus would have believed that he was asleep if not for the fact that he was tapping his foot, as if listening to a song in his head. As soon as the group saw Albus they all froze. Sullivan opened his eyes and sat up. They became very silent as Scorpius walked over to Sullivan's couch and gestured his friend to scoot over. Sullivan obeyed and Scorpius sat. He then gestured to the empty armchair.

"Go ahead and sit down Albus." He said. Albus swallowed, as he walked towards the empty chair. He tried to act calm but he couldn't ignore what could only be described as an evil grin on Jaysen Villacrow's face.

It was a sort of dreamlike experience, sitting in a forest with a group full of Slytherins. And not just any Slytherins, but Scorpius Malfoy's friends. Strangely, being with them, Albus was reminded of an old muggle movie that Rose had made him watch once, because it was her mother's favorite from when she was a kid. It was some high school drama and he remembered in the movie there had been these preppy kids, who were perfect at everything and were popular and adored. But then there were also these rebel kids, who broke all the rules and were somehow more popular than the good kids. The boys had in the rebel group were called like, the "T-Birds" or something, and the girls were the "Pink Ladies".

Albus hadn't really liked the movie but it did remind him of Hogwarts sometimes, minus all the singing and dancing. His brother James was a good popular kid. He was handsome and played quidditch and everybody loved him. Then there was Scorpius and his gang, who were like the rebel kids. They smoked and drank and didn't care about school at all and somehow everyone respected them even more. Scorpius Malfoy and his friends had this sort of appeal, some strange mystique that made them by far the most popular people at Hogwarts.

For example, without talking to any of them before in his life Albus knew a variety of things about the people in front of him. Wendy Damille, Tess Burke and Stephanie Blanc were some of the prettiest girls at Hogwarts.

Stephanie had been best friends with Scorpius since they were children and so she was seen as second in command of their little group.

Wendy was pretty much the most sought after girl at Hogwarts. She was a flirt and tended to have about 4 different guys at any given time.

Tess was the one girl you never wanted to mess with. Her dad owned a shop in Knockturn Alley and she apparently knew some pretty dark magic.

Of the boys there was Jaysen Villacrow, who currently had a large bright purple welt on the side of his head, was the stupidest boy Albus had ever heard of. He also partied like crazy. His family was very wealthy and from Italy. He had attended Beauxbaton for his first year of schooling, when he allegedly got "hella ass" despite being the tender age of 11. He was expelled after four months and transferred to Hogwarts almost immediately.

Andrew Chen was Scorpius' right hand man, and also the brawn of the group. He liked to hit things, and also liked breaking rules. He averaged about two detentions a week once the year got going.

If Andrew was the brawn then Sullivan Bole was definitely the brains of the group. He was also the oddest. No one really understood how Sullivan fit into the little group Scorpius had created, but they just labeled him the wild card and left it at that.

Finally there was the ringleader of them all, Scorpius Malfoy. Wealthy, refined, handsome and charming, Scorpius Malfoy was easily the most popular boy in the school. He always was messing around with girls and throwing fabulous parties at his mansion. He seemed to have the perfect life that everyone dreamed of. He had power, popularity and lots of money, there was no downside. Albus tried not to feel strange about knowing all this about complete strangers. These were things that all students at Hogwarts knew. Albus wouldn't be surprised at all if even today, on the second day of the school year older students were already telling the first years all the stories and rumors about the sixth year Slytherins.

Albus sat in the chair and set his bookbag down on the grass. He couldn't force himself to relax, with so many eyes watching him.

"What's the bag for?" Andrew asked him suddenly. Albus frantically looked at Scorpius, wondering if perhaps he would speak for Albus. Scorpius simply stared at him, just like everyone else. Some help he is, Albus thought. But he wasn't exactly surprised. After another thoroughly awkward moment Albus answered.

"A couple textbooks." He said, not making eye contact.

"Textbooks? Classes haven't even started yet, why would you need books?" Andrew continued, not mocking, but seeming genuinely confused. After a few more awkward moments Albus decided that he was being expected to answer, again.

"Well teachers often lecture out of the books, so it helps you follow along." Albus explained.

"Right, but books are soooo heavy." Wendy complained, "Why don't you just share with a friend, that's what I always do."

"Wendy you have never opened a textbook once in your life." Stephanie said, "and when you choose to go to class, you just flirt." Wendy elected not to respond, but crossed her arms and pouted instead.

"Why aren't you all in class anyways?" Albus asked suddenly, curiosity getting the best of him.

Jaysen suddenly grinned and raised his hand, as if electing himself to answer the question. "It was all my genius plan." He started, Tess snorted at him and Stephanie rolled her eyes but Jaysen continued. "You know how teachers are always acting so mad and disappointed in you when you don't come to class or like do your work and stuff?" Jaysen paused waiting for confirmation, so Albus nodded quickly.

"Well, I realized that all these teachers get the wrong idea when you show up for the first day. You know, all that crap about 'first impressions'. Well when you show up for the first day of class teachers think that you are some sorta good student and that's why they get all mad if you don't come to class. So, instead of showing up on time the first day, you just don't go. Now the teacher knows your some fuck up, and so when you come to class at all they get really excited, like they're some great ass teacher, and they don't even ask you for your homework. And when you DO turn in homework, they are so fucking proud that they don't even check to see if you copied the entire thing off of someone else." Jaysen finished and leaned back, waiting for Albus' reaction.

"Oh…" Albus couldn't think of anything else to say and so his one word hung in the air. Thankfully this time Scorpius did come to his rescue.

"We've been doing it ever since third year. That's when we created this place." Scorpius gestured around the clearing. "Sullivan did some shit to make not let anyone but us in."

"Well, that's great." Albus followed lamely. In his head he was wondering how on earth none of them had been expelled yet.

"Alright enough about us." Stephanie said quickly, "I think the real question is why aren't you in class Albus? Why did you come here?" Her words were followed with silence as everyone in the group stared at Albus again. This time Albus felt a lump rise into his throat. This was more than just awkward; these people seemed to be hovering around him like serpents, waiting for him to show weakness so they could strike. They didn't invite him here for his company, he had always known that, but what in the world did they want from him?

He took once last glance at Scorpius, who didn't make any move to explain that he had brought Albus with him. There was something sinister in his eyes now, that hadn't been there before. Almost like he was waiting for his friend's attack just so he could watch in amusement. It made Albus feel sick.

"Scorpius brought me." Albus answered quickly, hoping that this might illicit a reaction from the boy, or at least change the creepy look in the blonde's eyes. It did neither.

"Well duh." Wendy exclaimed, "But why did you come with him? Like, do you even know him?"

"I came because he asked. Not many people ask to hang out with me, although I'll assume you know that." Albus mumbled the words into his lap, which destroyed any authority they might have contained.

"Well, you're sure honest aren't you?" Sullivan asked with a grin, "You must be interested in why we asked you here, am I right?"

Albus looked up suddenly. Were they going to tell him? Really? Just like that?

"We're interested in you Albus. Why is it that everyone in your family is loved and adored by all; your parents, siblings, cousins, and yet you are some sort of outcast?" Sullivan said the words carefully, as if he was pondering them as he was saying them.

"Are you really that much of a freak?" Jaysen added with a laugh.

Albus felt his cheeks grow red. He thought that maybe they would curse him or drag him into the forest to be attacked by a troll. Had he really been brought here just to be mocked?

"Albus?" Tess asked. Her voice was so comforting that Albus was compelled to look up.

"Why did you come here with Scorpius?" she questioned. Albus couldn't find an answer for her; he just stared at her dumbly.

"Albus," Stephanie continued, leaning forward, "Do you want to be our friend?" she had such a sweet smile, that Albus almost believed she was sincere.

"We think you're interesting." Sullivan stated simply.

"And funny." Wendy giggled.

"So if you wanna join our group there is just one thing you have to do. You just have to tell us one little thing." Andrew continued.

Albus tried to stop himself. He knew that if he continued, he would be digging a hole that he couldn't get out of. These people could be horrible and they were playing with his emotions, they were playing on his weakness, he could tell. He needed to leave; he should just walk away and never talk to any of them again. But somehow he mouth didn't listen to his brain. As much as he tried to stop it, the words came tumbling out.

"What is it?"

He didn't even have time to regret the words. He didn't even have time to acknowledge the sinister smirks that had grown on every single one of their faces.

Andrew made eye contact with Albus and leaned forward.

"Are you in love with Scorpius?"


	5. Chapter 5

Listened to so much ADELE while writing this chapter, I'd be interested to know if anyone thinks it affected my writing, haha. Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing! Hope you enjoy this next chapter.

* * *

><p>Albus had to physically force himself to not to turn his head and look at Scorpius. He knew that if he looked at the blond he would lose it. Albus sat there for a moment, eyes wide, mouth open in complete shock.<p>

How did they know? Hell, Albus didn't even know what his feelings for Scorpius were, but somehow these people had picked up on it. That must have been why they invited him here, to confront him about his feelings for Scorpius. But what were his feelings? He didn't _love_ Scorpius. That was impossible. I mean, sure, Albus thought that the guy was attractive, but he was a boy. A BOY. Albus couldn't love a boy. He wasn't… well, he wasn't like that. Albus liked girls. Not any in particular, but over all they were nice. Then Albus thought of how he had felt when Scorpius touched him earlier that morning, and realized that he had never felt like that about a girl in his entire life.

Dropping his head and staring into his lap Albus felt his cheeks grow hotter.

"Well, that answers that question." He heard Jaysen laugh. "Look at the little faggot blush."

Albus quickly looked up and sent Jaysen the most menacing glare he could manage. It must have been at least a little frightening because Jaysen stopped laughing and looked shock. Without saying anything else Albus grabbed his bag and got up from his chair. He quickly walked to the edge of the bushes that surrounded the clearing, pulled his wand out and murmured a spell. The hedge grew apart and Albus stepped through. He heard talking from behind him but ignored all of the voices and ran away as quickly as he could. He felt tears stream down his face and his throat closed up as he tried to stifle a sob. He had to make sure he was far enough away that they wouldn't hear.

* * *

><p>Unluckily for Albus his level of stamina for activities such as running was relatively low. He got about a hundred yards away before he had to stop and catch his breath. Catching his breath however quickly turned into gasping for air as he sobbed even harder. Albus tried to keep it in, he really did. He tried to convince himself that he was expecting to be humiliated by Scorpius and his friends. But, it didn't help. Despite knowing it would end badly Albus had still gotten his hopes up, and then they were brutally crushed.<p>

Once he started crying Albus could find nothing but more things to cry about. It started with his humiliation, then drifted onto his overall patheticness, then he considered his lack of friends, his broken relationship with Rose, the fact that he wasn't comfortable sleeping in his own dorm, and finally the fact that he was currently missing Herbology and Professor Longbottom might be mad. The last thing Albus wanted to do was make his favorite professor mad, especially after the amazing news Professor Longbottom had given him the day before. With that as his motivation, Albus was able to end his tears and maneuver his way out of the forest.

It wasn't that hard to find his way back to the grounds. Scorpius' secret hideout wasn't all that far into the woods, and once the trees started thinning Albus knew he was headed in the right direction.

Less than ten minutes later Albus had exited the forest and was closing in on the greenhouses. He had tried his best to wipe his face and hoped that his eyes weren't ridiculously red. The last thing he needed was everyone in his Herbology class looking at him like he was some sort of lunatic.

Albus approached the doors and tried to open them as carefully as he could, with the preference of sneaking into the room without making a sound. Of course that idea was completely destroyed when his professor called out his name before he had even shut the door behind him.

"Ah Albus, I was hoping you would show up today. I know it is the first day of classes but you shouldn't slack." Albus could hear in the tone of voice that his teacher was teasing him in an affectionate sort of way. However, when Albus turned around and Professor Longbottom got a look at his face, the man stopped smiling and instead showed a look of concern.

Damn… Albus thought. His face must have still looked pretty upset. He tried to muster his best smile and grinned at his teacher.

"Sorry professor, I just couldn't manage to get up this morning. Won't happen again I promise." Professor Longbottom looked like he was at a loss for words, but luckily someone else jumped in and spoke to Albus.

"I saved you a seat next to me Albus."

Albus looked and saw that the person addressing him was none other than his cousin Rose.

"Rosie." He sighed with relief. She always had that affect on him. Even when she was mad, Rose's presence always made Albus feel more at ease. As soon as Rose got a good look at Albus' face her expression turned worried as well. Albus tried to ignore it, and shuffled over, setting his bag on the long table they shared, and sitting in the stool next to hers.

Albus was aware that everyone in the class had their eyes trained on him. Most of them were curious, a few might have been sympathetic, but Albus was trying not to notice the stares. A few moments later, once Professor Longbottom seemed to decide that Albus was situated and was not going to started crying hysterically, he continued his lesson for the day.

Rosie stayed silent for the entire time that Professor Longbottom was talking, but her eyes never left Albus. He could feel her staring at him, and knew that he was not going to be able to brush off being late. Somehow she was going to weasel the story out of him, and the thought of her knowing what had happened in the forest made Albus very uncomfortable. In fact, what had actually _happened_ in the forest made Albus uncomfortable enough, so he had no idea how he was going to tell someone else about it.

As soon as Professor Longbottom stopped talking, and asked them all to start collecting spores off of the plant they were working on, Rosie pounced on him.

"Albus. Tell me what happened." She said, putting her hands on her hips. She looked exactly like her mother when she did that; the stance meant business.

"Can we talk about it later?" Albus said hastily, putting on his garden gloves and reaching for a tray to collect the spores.

"No. We can talk about it now." Rosie said in a commanding tone. She grabbed the tray out of his hands and glared at him. Albus sighed defeated.

"Well it's a pretty long story, maybe we can talk about it after class." He proposed, hoping that Rose's curiosity could be sated for that long.

"Alright, but after this, we are going to get lunch and you are going to tell me everything, sparing no details. Understand?"

Albus nodded, and took his tray back to start collecting spores. Rose's eyes softened suddenly, and she touched him on the shoulder. Albus couldn't help but think about how Scorpius had touched that same shoulder less than an hour ago.

"You're alright aren't you?" She said gently. Albus looked at her and grinned. His best friend was talking to him again. Better yet, she was concerned about him. Best of all she had saved him a seat in Herbology and they were getting lunch together.

"Yes Rosie, I'm just fine."

* * *

><p>"What the hell Andy!" Steph yelled out almost immediately after Albus ran away.<p>

"Andy, you SAID you were going to ask him if he was gay." Tess continued visibly angry.

"I thought you were going to ask him if he was a virgin." Wendy added, but she finished her statement with a shrug and leaned back into the couch, clearly unconcerned with the recent events.

"Why the hell are you ladies getting your panties in a twist?" Jaysen asked, "I mean, was that not entertaining? I thought that was entertaining. Did you not see his face?" Jaysen couldn't keep in his chuckle and the rest of his thoughts dissolved into laughter.

"So I changed up the game plan a little. No big deal." Andrew said.

"It is a big deal Andrew." Tess said crossing her arms. "I was hoping we could keep this going for a month at least. Now, Albus is never going to talk to us again, we have to think of another ingenious plan."

Andrew's eyes grew a little wider as he listened to Tess. It was obvious that he hadn't thought out his question before asking it.

"You big idiot." Steph said sighing.

"Well I guess it was fun while it lasted." Andrew said, pouting a little.

"I really did think we were going to get more out of it." Wendy added.

"Sorry guys. I couldn't resist… Did you see him, acting like some sort of little angel? With his book bag and his straight tie, and his little mumbling voice. I dunno, I just couldn't resist ruffling his feathers a bit." Andrew finished, slightly embarrassed now.

"Well he got pretty feisty, don't you think." Jaysen asked turning to Andrew. "I mean, when I called him a faggot he looked seriously pissed."

"Scorpius, you haven't said anything." Stephanie added suddenly. Instantly they all turned to Scorpius and waited for their friend to say something.

"What do you want me to say?" Scorpius asked quietly.

"Dude, I'm sorry." Andrew started, " I didn't mean to ruin-"

"Who said you ruined anything?" Scorpius interrupted with a grin. Everyone stared at him in shock so Scorpius decided to continue. "In case you didn't notice Albus Potter is in love with me. If anything this makes our job much easier."

"But Scorpius, how are we going to get him to trust us after this? We ambushed him." Tess asked.

"Leave that to me Tess." Scorpius replied, "After all, I'm his secret crush. Something tells me it will take a lot more than what happened today to keep him away." Scorpius started to laugh and they all joined in, well except for Sullivan, who was frowning to himself.

"What about you Sullivan," Andrew asked, looking at his friend. "What do you think?"

"I think you're all stupid." Sullivan replied.

"Oh please, do elaborate." Tess said rolling her eyes at their dramatic friend.

"Did no one notice how he opened the hedge by himself?" Sullivan said loudly, clearly upset. "I spent MONTHS proofing that charm and changing it to only let it open for US. Albus Potter walks over and in a second he tears it down with some silent spell? Its impossible!"

No one had any idea of what to say to Sullivan, who seemed more than a little peeved for being shown up by Albus.

"All I'm saying," Sullivan added calmly, "Is that treating Albus like some naïve, helpless kid is dangerous. We can't underestimate him. This could be a lot more challenging than you all realize."

"Well personally," Scorpius smirked, "I've always been fond of challenges."

Everyone relaxed a little. In their group when Scorpius made a decision it was final. He didn't always use his authority, but when he did it was nice knowing that no one would be arguing or fighting about the topic anymore. It seemed as if for now their little game was still in motion.

Steph sighed, and leaned back in her couch, propping her feet up on the arm of the chair where Albus had been sitting only minutes before. "Well Albus Potter, it looks like we aren't finished with you yet."

* * *

><p>Immediately after Herbology ended Rosie and Albus packed up their things and headed to the Great Hall. Before leaving the greenhouse Albus spotted Professor Longbottom giving him a troubled look. Albus gave him a grin and a wave before leaving the classroom. Albus hoped that his teacher wouldn't worry about him too much. He especially hoped that he wouldn't feel the need to write Albus' parents about his concern for Albus, as he had done in the past.<p>

Rose and Albus went into the Great Hall for only a moment. Rosie grabbed them a stack of sandwiches and a couple apples. She then motioned for him to follow her back out of the Great Hall. He followed her dutifully but was nervous on the inside.

Albus still wasn't sure that he wanted to tell Rosie about his meeting with Scorpius Malfoy and friends. He didn't want her to have some personal vendetta against them; after all, he was used to being teased and he had gotten over the events of the morning anyways. Well… mostly.

No, the real thing that was bothering Albus now was the question that Andrew had asked him. At first he had just dismissed it as impossible, but all throughout Herbology Albus hadn't been able to forget it. Albus couldn't deny that he thought Scorpius was really attractive, maybe he even was attracted to Scorpius, but that didn't mean he was… well, you know, gay… did it? Albus didn't feel gay. He didn't particularly care about fashion and he hated gossip.

During class Albus had tried a little experiment. He had looked at all the girls in his class and given each one a score from 1 to 10 depending on how attractive she was. Albus knew the boys in his dorm did this all the time, so he thought he might as well give it a try. He started with a particularly chubby Hufflepuff. She had a pretty face though, and nice hair, so he gave her a 3. The next girl got a 6, another got a 5, a few got 7's and a few more got 8's. One girl got a 4 and one girl got a 9. After Albus had finished scoring them all he went back to the 8's and the 9 and tried to tell himself that he thought they were attractive. And it was true; he did think that, the only problem was that Albus realized that he wasn't _attracted_ _to_ them. They were obviously very pretty girls, but Albus found that he just wasn't interested. This worried Albus. He had never been interested in girls, but he always thought it was for a lack of trying. Now he was trying, and there was still nothing there. For a moment he considered changing and scoring all the boys in his class, but he was too afraid to try, worried about how attractive he might find some of his male classmates.

Walking down an almost empty hall with his cousin Albus realized that the best way to sort out his confused feelings would be to talk to someone about them. The only person Albus felt comfortable talking to was Rosie, but he just saw no way of bringing it up without mentioning his excursion into the forest.

"Albus?" he heard his cousin ask. Albus pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked at her.

"Come on, let's eat in here."

Albus smiled as he realized that they were in his favorite empty classroom. It was only on the second floor, but it was at the very end of an older hall that didn't get much use. The walls were still decorated with large posters of planets and magical creatures that had faded and yellowed. Empty birdcages hung from the ceiling, although creatures of some sort had obviously been in them once. Albus and Rosie had come here often in past years to eat lunch or simply were two large chairs and a fireplace in the corner of the room. Albus and Rose had countless spent hours in those chairs over the years. Sitting down Albus was handed a sandwich from Rose. He took it tentatively, knowing what was coming. A moment later when Rosie had grabbed herself a sandwich and made herself comfortable in her chair, she turned to her cousin.

"Alright." She began, "Now what happened." If it hadn't been Rosie asking him the question Albus might have laughed. She sounded so much like a concerned mother… or maybe a therapist.

"I had an interesting morning…" Albus started, not quite sure where his story was going. Rosie gave him a look that seemed to say, duh. Albus continued.

"I had this dream last night." He started again, trying to make a story in his head as quickly as he could. "And I was at Hogwarts in the common room by myself. Then this guy came in, but I didn't know who he was. He sat down next to me, and then all of a sudden…." Albus stopped, unsure if his "gay dream plan" was a very good plan at all.

"What?" Rosie asked, obviously curious.

"We started snogging." Albus said quickly. He felt his cheeks heat up. He had never dreamed of snogging a guy, but the fact that he was pretending he had was almost worse.

Rosie stared at him for a long time without saying anything.

"Well, then, you know more things happened," Albus continued awkwardly, "Teenage boy dream things…"

Rosie nodded carefully, "Alright." She said after awhile.

"Well, yeah. And then when I woke up I had this… erm, situation to deal with." Albus continued. It did feel weird to be making all of this up, but it didn't really feel weird telling it to Rosie. After all she was his best friend, and they normally talked about everything.

"So I was going to get up and shower, but then I heard everyone else getting up and I was too embarrassed for them to see me, so I just stayed in bed and waited for everyone to leave. Then I took my shower, but… well I kept, I mean I was… I kept thinking about guys." Albus said finally. "And I dunno, I got upset because I haven't thought about this before and I'm just really confused. Also, I took forever to get ready so that's why I was late to class." Albus thought his story was pretty believable. In fact it was probably more believable then the truth.

"So, you were so upset because you were confused?" Rosie asked a moment later. Albus nodded taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Albus?" she asked quietly, "Are you telling me that you think you are gay?"

Albus swallowed his bite of sandwich. "Rosie, I'm saying that I don't know. I was hoping you could help me work through my feelings."

"Right. Of course I can." Rosie said quickly. "First things first, have you ever had a crush on a boy?"

"No!" Albus said a little too quickly, but Rosie didn't seem to notice.

"Alright, well what about a girl?" she questioned.

"Not really." Albus said after a moment.

"Well, have you ever had these kinds of dreams before, I mean with either boys or girls?" Rosie asked next.

"No." Albus replied truthfully.

"Ok…" Rosie said slowly. "Well… I mean, did you like it? The dream that is."

Albus looked down at his lap for a second, feeling his face go red again. A moment later he looked up at his cousin and nodded. "Yeah, I liked it."

"Do you think you would like it if it had been a girl?" Rosie said.

"I don't know Rosie. I've never been with a girl." Albus said wearily.

"Well, think about it. Imagine it. What do you think?" Rosie persisted.

"I… I don't think I would. Maybe… I mean, no I guess not." Albus sighed.

"I don't mean to jump to any conclusions Alby, but if you are sexually attracted to guys and not girls then I' m pretty sure that means you're gay." She paused, "Does that bother you?"

Albus sighed again and put his head in his hands.

"Well it sure complicates things." He replied finally. A moment later he felt a hand on the top of his head. He looked up and saw Rosie smiling at him.

"Don't worry Alby. It's not a bad thing; you don't have to be sad or embarrassed. It's possible that you just had a weird gay dream, and that your hormones took control and let you get so worked up. Girls can have lesbian dreams with out being lesbians, sometimes your mind just does weird things. This doesn't mean you're gay. Even if you do like guys, you could still be bisexual." Rosie continued to rub Albus' hair gently as she talked.

"I just have this feeling Rose. This weird feeling that I've been avoiding this for a while and I just need to face it." Albus sighed again.

"Well then face it!" Rosie said firmly, "Experiment! Open your thoughts up. Let yourself think about boys, and girls, whoever you want. Your feelings will surface eventually."

Albus nodded, "That makes sense." He said quietly.

Rosie looked down on him and quickly pulled him into a big hug. "Albus, just so you know, I will always love you, no matter who you have sex dreams about. I love you for who you are, not for who you spend your time snogging. Don't ever be afraid to tell me the truth okay? And for the record, everyone else in our family loves you just as much, even James, although he wont show it."

Albus felt like he was going to start crying, he was so glad he had his best friend back. He hugged her even tighter.

"Rosie, I'm sorry for being so moody lately. I never meant to make you mad." He apologized.

"Alby, you have nothing to be sorry about. I forgive you. I mean, look how much you've had to think about. I should have been more supportive."

Albus smiled at Rosie and she smiled back at him. Then she grabbed another sandwich and handed it to Albus. He took it gladly and was about to take a bite when he thought of something.

"Rosie, you wont tell anyone about this will you? I mean not yet, while I'm still figuring it all out." Albus asked.

"My lips are sealed." Rosie said with a wink.

"Thanks." Albus replied and took a big bite of his sandwich. Leaning back in his chair Albus closed his eyes and for the first time since he left his parents at King's Cross he felt completely at ease.


	6. Chapter 6

Scorpius Malfoy was not having a good day. He had his hands (albeit covered in gloves) deep in some sort of dirt, although from the smell Scorpius was highly convinced it was mainly poop. They were supposed to be searching for some sort of beetle that lived in the poop-dirt. Their teacher earlier that week had taught them to follow a pinkish trail that the beetle left behind and then spot the bug at the end of it. Of course Scorpius hadn't gone to the class where that had been taught. He had been back in his dorm with this girl named Laura. He was sure paying for skipping class now.

Scorpius sighed and pulled his hands out of the large bucket in front of him. He had been searching for this beetle for roughly half an hour and wasn't allowed to leave until he found it. Really, he should have been suffering this torture with Jaysen, who hadn't shown up to class all week, except for today. However, the lucky bastard had somehow managed to get a bucket where the beetle was coming up for air. According to his teacher the beetles only needed to surface once or twice a day for oxygen, before going back down into the earth. Jaysen had delivered his beetle to the professor after about two minutes of class and had gotten to leave; free to enjoy the rest of his Friday afternoon. As Jaysen had left the room he had smirked at Scorpius, who in turn had sent his friend the finger. Some people had all the luck.

Forty minutes later Scorpius was the last student in the classroom. He suspected that his oaf of a teacher had purposely already taken his beetle out. For some reason the man hated Scorpius, even though they had barely any interactions over the last 6 years.

"Still at it, are yeh?" His professor asked suddenly from behind Scorpius.

"Yes sir…" Scorpius replied turning to look at his teacher. Professor Hagrid was a very large man. He was tall and wide and wore a large fur coat that made him look larger still. His hair and beard both grew about to his waist, and were streaked with grey and white. Hagrid had been teaching at Hogwarts since his father had been in school, and working there for even longer. He still looked relatively young for his age, given his giant's blood, but anyone could see that his years had started to take a toll.  
>"Well hurry up. I ain't got all day." He grunted before shuffling away.<p>

Scorpius sighed and stuck his hands back in the gooey muck in front of him. His Care of Magical Creatures class wasn't the only thing that had put Scorpius in such a foul mood. For the past two weeks Scorpius had been trying to corner Albus Potter, but the boy was never anywhere to be found. At first Scorpius had thought it was just coincidence that he had never run into Albus. However, after a week, when he started searching for the Gryffindor it became obvious that Potter was avoiding him. Scorpius was convinced that if he could just get Albus alone for a minute the boy would be putty in his hands. He could probably convince him to do anything, and Albus undoubtedly knew it, which was why he was avoiding Scorpius.

Scorpius had gotten a complete schedule of Albus' classes. He knew where Potter should be every second of everyday, but somehow he always took a different route to class, or seemed to finish meals particularly early. Scorpius was starting to get seriously annoyed. Andy wouldn't stop teasing him about not being able to seduce a boy that was already in love with him. And Steph kept telling him the "I told you it wouldn't be that easy" speech. He was trying not to worry about it, despite all this though. It wasn't as if Albus could ignore him forever.

* * *

><p>"And we will pick up the rest on Tuesday class," Professor Langing-Tair said dismissing her class for the afternoon, "Enjoy your weekend."<p>

There was a loud shuffle of books and paper and the loud scrape of chairs being scooted as all the students hurried to leave the classroom. Albus Potter sat in the second row and was jotting down a last few ideas in his notes. Once he finished he starting packing up his books and when he went to stand up he noticed someone was waiting for him.

"Austin." Albus said with a smile. Austin was another sixth-year Gryffindor, and they shared a dorm. While Austin and him had never been close they had a few classes together this year and sat next to each other in them. They also helped each other on homework, or rather Albus helped Austin.

"You have any plans tonight?" Austin asked with a small grin.

"Oh, you know me. My whole weekend is filled with exciting things to do." Albus replied sarcastically.

"Well I was hoping to get these charts done tonight since I have loads of Quidditch this weekend, but I don't really understand how to do them. Help me?" Austin put on a sweet, almost desperate smile that made Albus grin.

"Sure, it's no problem. Besides then I'll get them out of the way early as well."

Austin looked relieved, "Thanks Albus, you're a big help. I don't know what I was thinking taking Ancient Runes again. I haven't got the time, especially now with Quidditch."

Albus nodded as if he understood what Austin was talking about, although he didn't. Albus had nothing but time to do homework, a fact he had accepted by his sixth year.

"Going back to the common room?" Austin asked him as they walked out of the classroom.

"No, I'm going down to visit Hagrid. I'll be there in a while."

"Well, why don't we plan on meeting in the common room after dinner?" Austin asked.

"Perfect, see you then." Albus responded with a wave, and the two separated. Albus hopped down the stairs that led to the main entrance of Hogwarts. He hadn't talked to Hagrid at all since school had started, besides a greeting or two in the hallway, and it was about time that they caught up. Exiting the castle from two giant oak doors Albus stepped outside and took a deep breath of fresh air. It had gotten slightly colder since the term had started, but the sun was still shining out and Albus felt amazing. The past two weeks had been better for him than he thought possible.

Rosie had kept to her word and been more supportive of him. This meant that she sat with him at meals and talked to him in the common room and treated him like the good friends that they were. Her other friends weren't too happy with the development, but she must have said something to them, because they didn't make fun of him as much anymore and put up with his presence. Even Jeremy had elected to simply ignore Albus' company, and this pleased Albus more than anything. If Jeremy pretended that Albus wasn't there, then Albus could pretend that Jeremy wasn't there. The whole situation worked out perfectly.

There were plenty of other things that were keeping Albus happy too. His classes had all started and he thought they were all wonderful. Everything he was learning was interesting and the workload wasn't even half as bad as last year during OWLs.

The horrible little episode from two weeks ago was now just a distant memory. Albus hadn't come in contact with Scorpius since the event. However, this was not by accident. Albus had tried his best to avoid Scorpius whenever possible, and had even physically run away from him a few times.

Albus didn't want to talk to Scorpius because he was embarrassed. He was embarrassed that he had allowed himself to be tricked, embarrassed that Scorpius knew about his crush, and even more embarrassed that after the whole incident he still liked Scorpius. It would be best if Albus didn't see the Slytherin for the rest of the year, and although that was highly unlikely Albus was planning on keeping it up as long as possible.

Walking down the school grounds, after awhile the shape of Hagrid's classroom came into view. It was a two-story lodge that stood where Hagrid's old hut had been. His father told him that Hagrid's house was burnt down long ago in the war and that when the school was being rebuilt they decided to combine Hagrid's new house with a classroom, so that his classes could be held outside, where it was easiest to control the wildlife. Hagrid lived on the top floor of the lodge, while his creatures, office and classroom were below.

Walking up to the door of the classroom Albus figured that Hagrid would be cleaning up from his last class of the day. Albus pulled hard on the heavy door and walked inside.

Not seeing anyone in the room Albus called out, "Hagrid?" As soon as he had spoken he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Turning he noticed someone sitting in the corner of the room. Someone who was currently looking at him with an ever-widening smirk.

"Oh shit…"

* * *

><p>In the past couple weeks Albus had thought a lot about the conversation he had with his cousin. Rosie had told him to experiment, to let his thoughts wander, and he had taken her advice. Since that conversation Albus had thoughts had wandered all over the place, but no matter who or what he tried to focus on his thoughts always came back to Scorpius Malfoy. He thought about a boy in his Transfiguration class, but ended up comparing his jaw to Scorpius'. He looked at a girl in his Potions class, but she just didn't have the long, lean fingers that Scorpius did. As much as Albus had attempted to avoid Scorpius, his mind had done nothing but obsess about the blond for weeks.<p>

Fantasizing about someone nonstop made it rather awkward to come in contact with them. When Albus noticed Scorpius sitting in the corner of Hagrid's classroom, he considered simply turning around and walking out. He even told his feet to move, and move away fast, but they wouldn't. Albus had been avoiding Scorpius for so long because his head told him to but no other part of Albus wanted to be away from the Slytherin. In fact, the rest of Albus wanted to be as close to Scorpius as possible. So he stood there, saying nothing. He watched as Scorpius peeled off some mud-covered gloves and walked over to where Albus was standing.

"Fancy seeing you here." Scorpius said softly once he was standing in front of Albus. Albus tried to respond, but realized that he had been holding his breath. He took a slow deep breath, but at the end of it he realized that he still had nothing to say. Scorpius seemed to pick up on this and he continued.

"Haven't seen you around in the past couple weeks." There was a tone in his voice that led Albus to believe that Scorpius knew he had been avoiding him. "Ever since… well you know…"

Albus looked up at Scorpius now, and saw that the boy looked embarrassed. Albus nodded and gave a small hum to show that he remembered, but chose to say nothing.

"Albus. I want to apologize, you know for my friends. They aren't usually like that. I think they just get bored and need something exciting. I really didn't know that they were going to turn on you like that." Scorpius said quietly.

This time Albus didn't even bother looking up. He didn't want to look at Scorpius' face and start to believe the things that the boy was saying. Of course Scorpius had known what was going to happen! Scorpius was their little ringleader, and none of his friends did anything that the blond didn't know about. Scorpius had turned on him just like the rest of the group, although silently, and now he was trying to lure Albus back in. Scorpius was putting on this gentle, kind face just like last time. He was preying on Albus' feelings and Albus knew it. He also knew that he couldn't allow himself to be tricked like last time. Albus had to be stronger than that. Scorpius Malfoy thought he was so popular and powerful, but Albus would show him that he couldn't push everyone around.

Albus still hadn't looked up from the ground when he felt a light touch on his chin. Suddenly his face was being pulled up, and his eyes met directly with Scorpius'. The boy's hands stayed on his chin and Scorpius leaned in. Albus couldn't breath. He didn't move or speak.

"Albus I mean it." Scorpius said softly. He let his hand drop, but didn't lean away. "Please don't be upset about what happened. I'm not upset, I'm really happy. And I want to see you again."

No sooner had the words come out of Scorpius' mouth when a loud pounding could be heard above them. Hagrid was coming down the stairs. Albus looked alarmed and started to move away, but Scorpius grabbed his hand and pulled him close again.

"Tonight, 11 o'clock, astronomy tower. Meet us there." Scorpius whispered into Albus' ear.

"What's all this abou'?" A loud voice from behind made Albus jump up in fright. He looked past Scorpius and saw the huge frame of Hagrid, standing not 10 behind them.

"I found the beetle professor." Scorpius said without missing a beat. "I put it on your desk." He continued, gesturing across the room. "I'll be off then, have a good weekend."

With that Scorpius Malfoy collected his bag and walked out of the room. Before closing the door behind him Scorpius turned and gave Albus a wink, then he was gone.

"Don't think I missed tha'"Hagrid said, lumbering over to Scorpius' desk to move his bucket of mud. Albus felt his face go bright red. What had just happened? He was pretty sure that he had a conversation with Scorpius, but he hadn't even said a word. Had Scorpius asked him out? Did Scorpius like him?

Albus took a deep breath. He tried to calm himself down, and remind himself that Scorpius was just messing with him, playing on his emotions. He couldn't trust a boy like that.

"Now, would you mind tellin' me what you were talkin' to Scorpius Malfoy fer?" Hagrid asked. Albus turned around and faced the giant man.  
>"Nothing at all Hagrid." Albus said quickly.<p>

"Now don' gimme that." Hagrid shook his head and he gave Albus a serious look.

"Don't worry about it Hagrid." Albus replied, "He's started teasing me this year. But it's all friendly and fun. He just thinks that he is really funny. I don't mind."

Hagrid stared at Albus for a very long time, almost as if he could tell that Albus was lying to him. After a moment he shook his head again and went back to tidying his room.

"Well if yer sure its nothing…" he trailed off. Albus sighed in relief and walked farther into the room.

"But, let me just tell yeh this Albus. Those Malfoys are a rotten bunch, the whole lot of 'em. Scorpius is no different. I jus want yeh to be careful around him is all." Hagrid waited for Albus to nod and then waved him up the stairs. "Come on then. I'll make yeh some tea."

Albus started to climb the stairs and had to smile to himself. Be careful, around Scorpius? It simply wasn't possible.

* * *

><p>After a good hour of talking and after being forced a few cups of herbal tea Hagrid let Albus go. He pulled the boy in a giant bear hug, made him promise to visit soon, and asked him to try and bring his brother next time. Albus said he would, even though he couldn't guarantee anything that had to do with James. He waved goodbye to Hagrid and walked back towards the castle. It was around dinnertime but Albus figured he would have a quick moment to go back to his common room and throw his bag down.<p>

As he headed up to the Gryffindor tower Albus started humming. He was feeling good. He had told Hagrid all about his classes sixth year, and about his internship in Saudi Arabia. He had allowed himself to forget about his interaction with Scorpius, and had been able to relax.

Besides, it wasn't as if Albus would even have considered meeting Scorpius in the first place. He had learned his lesson the last time. Besides, Albus wasn't as insecure as last time he had bumped into the Slytherin. Sure, he didn't have the most friends, but he had Rosie, and he was feeling happier at school. Albus wasn't some desperate kid who would be Scorpius' little puppet. He had morals and standards and he was sticking to them!

There had been one thing that bothered Albus about his interaction with Scorpius though. At one point Scorpius said that he wasn't upset, that he was happy about what had happened in the forest. What had he meant? That he was happy about Albus getting bullied? Or had he been trying to tell Albus the he was happy about the crush? Albus shook his head suddenly. It didn't matter he decided. He wasn't going to meet Scorpius, and he wasn't going to talk to Scorpius. He didn't care about Scorpius.

Albus had reached the picture of the fat lady and was about to say the password when the portal opened from the other side, and someone came hurrying out. Albus immediately recognized it as Austin. He called out a greeting to his roommate and when Austin saw Albus he froze.

"Heading down to dinner?" Albus asked.

"Yeah…" Austin mumbled, as he tried to hurry past Albus.

Confused, Albus asked, "We're still doing homework later right?"

Austin stopped, turned and looked at Albus with some sort of mix of embarrassment but also disgust. "No. Were not." He spat out. Then he hurried down the hall before Albus had time to even process what had just happened.

"Well are you coming in or aren't you?" The shrill voice of the fat lady asked him. Albus was pulled out of his trance and walked through the portal. What in the hell had that been about? Albus had absolutely no explanation for Austin's behavior. He was still thinking about it when he walked into his dormitory a minute later. The three other boys were all sitting in the room and they grew deathly silent as Albus entered.

Albus walked over to his bed and set down his book bag. He was aware that all the boys were staring at him, but he was doing his best to ignore it. Finally Jeremy spoke.

"Hello Albus."

"Hello Jeremy." Albus replied without turning around.

"Do you have anything to tell us?" Jeremy asked slowly. Albus turned around and looked at him.

"Yeah. I'm going down to dinner now." He responded. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact there is. You've been keeping something from us Albus." Jeremy said in the same slow tone, it was really starting to freak Albus out.

"Oh yeah? And what exactly would that be?" Albus asked defiantly.

"How about the fact that you're a faggot!" Ian burst out suddenly. The room went silent as they all waited for Albus reaction. Albus just stood there. He didn't say anything, but his eyes went wide.

"Is it true Albus are you gay?" Jeremy continued. The last sixth year Gryffindor boy, Drew was sitting off on his bed, not looking at the three of them. He obviously felt extremely awkward in the situation. Drew was never a boy that liked a lot of confrontation, but Albus also knew that the boy wouldn't come to his aid either.

"You know Albus. When you live in a room with four other boys, that's not something you can keep to yourself." Jeremy kept talking but Albus was doing his best to block it out. "I mean, we all have a right to know. Why, I told Austin about it and he seemed very upset. He has a right to be. How do we know that you haven't been perving on us all these years? Watching us change, or in the bathrooms? It almost makes me sick to my stomach." Jeremy's last words were like knives stabbing into Albus.

If only Albus had a little more confidence maybe he could have responded with something witty like, "You're not much to look at. Or, even gay boys have standards." But Albus couldn't think clearly. All he could think was that Rose must have told. That was the only way Jeremy would have known.

"She told you." Albus finally said. It wasn't a question, simply a statement.

"We had a right to know Albus, you were the wrong one for not telling us- HEY!" Albus ran out of the room before he could hear the rest, of what Jeremy was going to say. He felt like he was going to cry, but didn't. None of what just happened felt real. All Albus had to do was go find his cousin. He would talk to Rosie and find out that it was all a big mistake, that she didn't betray him. He didn't even really believe it himself, but Albus needed something to hold onto. He ran towards the girls dorms and yelled out, "Has anyone seen Rose?"

"She already went to dinner Al. What's up?" The answer had come from his sister. Lily stood at the top of the girls dorm stairs, looking down on him with concern. Albus panicked, there was no way he could involve his sister in this. Instead of answering her question Albus yelled out a quick thanks and ran out of the common room.

* * *

><p>When Albus arrived in the Great Hall, a little short of breath, he spotted his cousin quickly. Dinner wouldn't start for about another 15 minutes, so the hall was only about a quarter full. Heading over to his cousin, Rosie turned and noticed Albus from a ways off. Her face paled, and she looked a little nervous.<p>

"Albus, you want to sit together for dinner?" she asked, motioning to a spot across from her. Amy and Grace were sitting next to her and they were both watching the interaction with extreme interest.

"You told him. Rose you TOLD Jeremy." Albus said, louder than he meant to, thankfully no one seemed to notice. The look on Rose's face turned from nervous to terrified.  
>"Albus! I didn't mean to, but he knew something was different about you, and he wanted to know what it was. He just wanted to be a better friend to you. Plus you guys are roommates, I thought it was okay if he knew!"<p>

"Rose, you're boyfriend doesn't give a shit about me! He only cares that I'm spending more time with you, he HATES me!"  
>"Albus that's not true!" Rose exclaimed.<p>

"BULLSHIT!" Albus yelled. This time, people did notice, and a few of them turned and looked at the two fighting cousins.

"Albus," Rose continued softly. "He has a right to know, all of them did."

Albus couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only did his cousin tell his secret to his worst enemy, but she wasn't even sorry! She was justifying it, because she thought he was some kind of creep who would prey on his roommates, more specifically her disgusting boyfriend. Albus couldn't stop himself from crying now.

"Albus, please don't be upset." Rose said, reaching for his hand.

Albus yanked it away. "No!" he said, backing up. "FUCK YOU. I said I wasn't even sure Rose, and you promised me you wouldn't tell. I'm not even fucking sure!" By now Albus was practically sobbing, and he was obviously drawing a lot of attention from the other students around. "I am upset. I'm fucking upset!"

"I'm- I'm sorry Albus." Rose said softly. But Albus couldn't take it, he couldn't take the pity in her eyes. He turned and ran out of the Great Hall as fast as he could.

* * *

><p>When he finally stopped running Albus had no idea where he was. He had tried to run as far away as he could to get away from any students. When he got tired of roaming the halls, he opened the first door he could find and walked inside. There was a large chalkboard on one wall, but beside that the classroom was completely empty. Albus fell to his knees and sobbed. He laid down on the floor and just let go. How could Rosie have done that to him? She was supposed to be his best friend, but she just betrayed him like it was nothing. The more Albus thought about it, the more depressed he became.<p>

After awhile Albus came to a conclusion. He couldn't rely on Rosie anymore. She had always been his pillar of support, he always ran to her when he needed help, and she had always been there for him. Well, not anymore. Rosie cared more about her friends and her boyfriend then she did about Albus. In order to not be hurt anymore he was going to have to learn to let her go and deal with his problems himself. It was a hard realization to come to, but Albus actually felt a little better afterwards. He was upset that his cousin didn't care about him enough, but at least he wouldn't have to stand back and let her control him anymore. He was free to hate Jeremy and Ian and Grace and Amy as much as he wanted. That thought actually made Albus laugh a little.

There was still something else that Albus had to decide once and for all. After his little outburst in the Great Hall, and with Jeremy's help Albus' little news was sure to spread around the school in a few days. That meant the Albus had to decide, was he gay? This conclusion came a lot quicker than the last. Yes. Yes he was gay. He had been trying to avoid it, but accepting it felt so right that Albus knew it had to be true. He wasn't sure if he was comfortable with other people knowing, but at least he accepted it himself.

Albus sat up off of the floor and wiped his face on the sleeve of his jumper. He couldn't stay in this room all night, as much as he wanted to. The last thing he wanted to do was sleep in his dorm, or even see any of those boys ever again. That was when Albus remembered… there was something else he could do tonight. Something that he had promised himself he would never do again. But that promise seemed like a lifetime ago. He had just lost his best friend, and changed his sexuality. Albus was allowed to change his mind on other things, like associating him with Scorpius Malfoy again.

Besides, there was no way Scorpius or any of his friends could hurt Albus like Rose just had. Albus stood up and walked out of the room. He was going to do it, he decided. He was going to fall for the same exact trap as before, but he really didn't care. Anything would be better then laying around feeling sorry for himself. And with that he set off back to him common room.

By the grace of Merlin, Albus didn't come across anyone as he made his way back to the Gryffindor common room. When he got inside he immediately went up the stairs and into the 7th year boy's dorm. It was completely empty, which made sense; everyone was still at dinner. Albus made his way over to his brother's bed and opened James' trunk. He had to pull almost everything out, and then rooted around at the bottom until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a wrinkled old piece of parchment, and a large dark blue cloak. Albus quickly shoved all the things back into his brother's trunk, and checked to make sure everything looked in order. Then he hurried back into his dorm and after changing out of his shirt that was covered in snot, climbed into bed. Albus pulled the curtains closed around his four-poster bed and laid down.

He closed his eyes and tried to drift to sleep. He would need the extra energy, he had a long night ahead of him.


	7. Chapter 7

Hello all! Sorry about the ridiculously long wait. I tried to write this chapter about 10 times. I'm still not thrilled with it but maybe you all can give me some advice. The characters just aren't developing quite the way I want them to. Anyways, hoping to help my procrastination I've set my official posting days to Wednesdays. So look forward to that. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

><p>"They have to be fake!" Wendy yelled.<p>

"Really. The girl is sixteen. Boobs don't just grow miraculously when you're that old." Stephanie added.

"All I'm saying is that they felt real." Jaysen shrugged, taking a sip out of the large bottle he was holding.

"Well depending on what charm she used they could get real small pretty soon." Tess added, reaching out to take the bottle from him, so she could have some herself.

"Yeah I hear the cheaper charm you buy the worst side effects you get." Andrew contributed with a chuckle.

"What do they like explode or something?" Jaysen asked suddenly nervous, despite his cocky attitude just a moment earlier.

"They get lopsided! Sometimes they can even end up being smaller then they were originally."

Scorpius sat with his friends on the top of the astronomy tower, content to just listen to the gossip. The seven Slytherins hadn't been on the roof for more than an hour, but they wasted no time cracking open a bottle of fire whiskey, and then another, which was already almost half empty. Scorpius reached out and grabbed the bottle as it was passed around again. Tipping it back he took a drink before passing it on.

He felt a dopey smile begin to form on his lips as the group in front of him continued their debate about Samantha Wraughtin's chest. Scorpius was surprised to find how light his head felt. Normally Scorpius held his liquor rather well. Part he figured must have been genetics because he rarely experienced hangovers, but an equal part was training. Scorpius had drank a lot of alcohol in the past six years, and every year it took more and more to get him buzzed. Scorpius shook his head gently deciding not to think about how much he had drank, and instead just to enjoy the sensation. Closing his eyes Scorpius thought about Samantha Wraughtin, and how plain she had been last year.

"How long do you think the charm will last for?" Scorpius asked, interjecting in the conversation.

"There's really no way for us to know that Scorpius." Sullivan answered laughing.

"You just want to try them out before they shrivel up and fall off." Stephanie said sounding disgusted. Scorpius simply shrugged in return.

"I'm telling you, definitely worth it." Jaysen said with a smirk.

"You boys are all repulsive." Tess shook her head.

"I take offense to that." Sullivan replied.

"Excuse me, Sully" Tess responded with a roll of her eyes. "You are millennium beyond these Neanderthals."

"Yeah, and what about me?" Andrew asked, scooting closer to Tess, "What do you think about me?"

"You'll do." She replied. Andrew mocked anger before Tess leaned over and put her head on his shoulder.

The whole group got very quiet. Scorpius leaned his head up and gazed at the stars. He started to wish that he had taken astronomy, because he really did like the stars sometimes. They gave you this sense of wonder and hope, or maybe that was just the alcohol. There was a peaceful silence among the group as everyone just sat and enjoyed the beautiful night.

Suddenly there was a loud crack from behind them. Wendy squealed, and Jaysen yelled out 'what the fuck'. Looking back to source of the noise Scorpius noticed that the trap door to the roof had been opened but there was no one there. Casting a quick lumos with his wand, Scorpius held it out in the direction of the trapdoor, but he still couldn't see anyone.

"Whose there?" he called angrily.

There was no response and the group all seemed to tense.

"I said whose there!" Scorpius repeated with more force.

This time something did happen. Before where empty space had been, Albus Potter appeared out of thin air. Scorpius noticed that he held a large cloak in one hand and a wadded up piece of parchment in the other. He made a mental note to ask about them later.

"Well, well, well." Andrew called, "If it isn't our little lion."

* * *

><p>Once Albus pulled his cloak off the entire group seemed to relax. He stood in front of the trap door unsure of what to do next.<p>

"If it isn't our little lion." Andrew called out. Albus tried to smile and take the nickname as a friendly gesture even though he knew it wasn't.

Albus glanced over to look at Scorpius. When Scorpius saw him looking he smiled and waved him to come over and sit down.

Albus walked over slowly, putting the map in the pocket of jeans as he went. He realized it probably wasn't a good idea for these kids to know about the map. They would take "mischief" to a whole new level.

"We didn't think you were going to come" Scorpius said as Albus sat down. "You're a little late."

Albus glanced around the circle of Slytherins and noticed the empty bottle of firewhiskey. Then he saw the half empty bottle that was currently being held by Stephanie.  
>Stephanie saw Albus looking at the bottle and held it out to him. "You want some?" she asked smiling. Albus didn't reach out to take it, or even respond.<p>

"Oh come on," Jaysen yelled, "Don't be such a pussy."

Albus sighed and reached out for the bottle. Taking it in his hands he could smell the liquid inside and it made him nervous. Albus didn't drink very often, and he never drank whiskey. Glancing around the group Albus saw that they were all watching him and waiting for him to drink. He lifted the bottle to his lips and took a large gulp of the clear liquid. Swallowing, he felt his throat become hot and irritated. A moment later Albus started coughing uncontrollably. Andrew who was sitting next to him gave him a heavy pat on the back.

"We'll have to work on that." Andrew muttered.

Wendy who was sitting on his other side commented, "You should have some more, we're all a lot more drunk than you are."

Albus glanced at her and could tell by her appearance that she was indeed very drunk. He took her advice and drank some more, although this time a smaller gulp. When he successfully had swallowed that without coughing he passed the bottle along.

"Everyone was talking about you at dinner today Albus." Stephanie said after a moment, trying to start a conversation.

Albus heard a disgruntled noise rise out of his throat. He really was hoping to avoid that topic, but it was probably inevitable.

"Apparently you had a big screaming match with that ginger cousin of yours." Jaysen continued.

"You know, using the description 'ginger' doesn't exactly narrow down my list of cousins all that much." Albus replied with a look of disregard towards Jaysen. There was a moment of silence after his words had been spoken, then Wendy began to laugh.

"I think that's the most I've ever heard you say." She giggled, "You're funny." She gave him a sweet smile, one that Albus couldn't help but return.

"So Albus," Scorpius started, "What exactly did happen in the Great Hall?"

Looking back over to Scorpius, Albus decided that everyone already knew what the argument had been about, but they were going to make him tell the story anyways. Albus reached out for the bottle and took a large gulp before speaking.

"Well, the first thing you should know is that I'm gay."

* * *

><p>"What do you mean you've never kissed anyone?" Tess yelled out in drunken horror.<p>

"I mean exactly that." Albus responded with a smile. His head was all fuzzy and his words were a little slurred, but he felt great.

"Wait, like no one, EVER?" Andrew asked incredulously.

"That's pretty much the idea of never Andrew." Albus replied.

After Albus had recounted his version of the Great Hall disaster to the group they had immediately started grilling him about his most personal secrets and details about his life. Albus was 'ruining the game' according to Jaysen, because he had no secrets to tell. He had never snuck out, gotten drunk, lied to his parents, stolen, or had any sort of romantic encounter.

"You make me feel like I'm some sort of sleaze." Wendy moped.

"You are a sleaze Wendy." Scorpius responded, "You get around more than any of us."

Wendy seemed to think about this for a moment. "I dunno, Scorp, you're sleazy too. You have sex all the time." She said, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"You do?" Albus asked. Immediately after saying it, Albus wished he could take it back. His drunken self seemed to have a lot less control of his mouth.

"Yeah. It's not my fault though. Girls can't keep their hands off me." Scorpius replied with a chuckle.

For some reason Wendy found this hilariously funny, she laughed so hard that she fell backwards. Albus reached out his hand to help her up but she pulled him down to lay with her instead.  
>"Look at the stars Albus." She said dreamily, "Aren't they amazing?"<p>

Albus laid down next to her and gazed up at the stars. They were beautiful. In astronomy he had always had to map them, make sense of them, and memorize constellations. It was much more powerful to just breathe them all in.

"Look there." Albus said pointing, "It's Draco." Albus had always been able to find the dragon constellation the easiest. "They say that Draco was the dragon that fought Minerva during the wars between the giants and the gods. Minerva threw Draco's twisted body into the heavens before it had time to unwind itself. And he had been immobilized amongst the stars ever since."

"Albus you are sooooo smart!" Wendy giggled. Sitting up, she told Scorpius, "Albus found your dad Scor!" She then laid back down. "Do Scorpius next."

Albus looked back up in the sky, trying to ignore the amused look on Scorpius' face.

"There it is," Albus said after a moment. Scorpius was a much trickier constellation, but Albus had a lot of practice finding it. "See, the tail, and the head and the claws?" He pointed up and Wendy nodded.

"What's the story?" Jaysen asked.

"The hunter Orion bragged to the gods that he was strong enough to kill every animal on the entire earth. The gods were angered by his pride so they sent monsters to kill him. The scorpion was the only animal strong enough to defeat Orion. Because of its strength and bravery the gods raised it into the heavens to remain forever. Later Orion was also put into the sky by the gods but still afraid of the scorpion Orion remains in the sky only in the winter and flees every summer as Scorpius comes."

"Wow." Albus heard Tess say.

"You know muggles believe they are all just balls of burning gas floating millions of miles away." Sullivan said. Everyone just seemed to ignore him.

Albus was still staring up at the constellation. Scorpius really was the most beautiful constellation.

"Ahh! Scorpius did you hear that," Wendy squealed, "Albus said your stars were the prettiest."

Shit! Had he said that aloud? He watched as Scorpius turned and smirked at him.  
>"Thanks." The blond replied with a grin.<p>

Albus felt his face heat up as he looked away from Scorpius.

There was a tense moment of awkward silence before Andrew spoke up. "You're a lot cooler than I would expect Albus." He said.

Although Albus appreciated that Andrew had filled the uncomfortable silence he was also confused why the Slytherin thought he was cool, especially since Albus had probably just said one of the most embarrassing things in his life.

Andrew, apparently not done praising Albus, continued. "You know I thought you were going to be this geek, who would never sneak out or drink, but here you are."

"Here I am." Albus repeated distantly. He laughed a little at the fact that just a few hours ago he would have fought an angry centaur before meeting with Scorpius and his friends. Now he was having a good time and feeling much happier, although that was mostly probably due to the alcohol.

"I dunno why you haven't got more friends Albus." Tess said next. "Maybe you just don't belong in Gryffindor, you should be a Slytherin like us." She giggled.

"The sorting hat was of the same opinion." Albus mumbled.

"What did you say?" Jaysen asked.

"The sorting hat thought I should be in Slytherin too. My brother James found out about it and spread a rumor that I was really a Slytherin and was a house traitor. That's why I don't have many friends. People just always avoided me, and I'm not very outgoing so I just spend a lot of time alone." Albus realized that he hadn't told that story to anyone. Looking around, no one in the circle looked particularly surprised, so maybe they already knew why he was an outcast, but still it felt good to get it off of his chest.

"POOR ALBY!" Wendy yelled out with an exaggerated sob. "Don't worry I'll be your friend!" She leaned over and wrapped him in a side hug.

"Thanks." Albus said with a small smile.

"I'll curse your brother next time I see him." Sullivan said, "Your cousin too while I'm at it."

"Oh, lemme help." Jaysen said, "I hate that James Potter. Ever since he became head boy he walks around with his nose in the air like some big prick." Jaysen turned to look at Albus as if just realizing James was his brother, "No offense." He added.

"Not necessary." Albus replied. "My brother and I aren't exactly the greatest of pals."

Sullivan and Jaysen started to discuss the many different ways that they could curse James Potter without getting caught. Meanwhile Andrew finished the last of the third bottle of firewhiskey. He got up and tossed the bottle off of the tower before sitting back down.

"Um guys." Tess said a minute later, "I think Steph is asleep."

Sure enough, when Albus looked, he saw that Stephanie, although still sitting up, had slumped over onto Tess and was currently asleep.

"Well, that's our sign." Scorpius said with a sigh. "Come on, time to go back."

There were a few whines and grumbles of protest, but everyone started to stand up, and Tess gently shook Stephanie awake.

As Albus started to stand up he found that maintaining his balance was a lot harder than normal. He staggered and felt as if he was about to fall when a hand reached out and steadied him.

"Careful now." Scorpius said. "I had no idea that you were such a lightweight."

Albus blushed, unsure of how to respond. Was being a lightweight a bad thing?

"Here, just lean on me." Scorpius said, taking Albus' hand in his own. If Albus hadn't been drunk he most likely would have fainted. He was holding hands with Scorpius Malfoy! Instead of being nervous, Albus felt as if the whole thing was a dream. He leaned into Scorpius carefully and laid his head on the other boy's shoulder. The feeling of their hands and arms touching was the greatest thing Albus had ever felt. He let out a contented sigh and heard Scorpius chuckle.

"Alright, everyone ready?" Scorpius asked. Albus noticed that Stephanie was being carried by Sullivan, who was easily the most sober of them all. The rest of the group nodded, and so they started towards the trap door.

Scorpius descended the ladder first. Then Albus went down slowly, trying to pay close attention to his feet on the rungs of the ladder. When he was only a few steps away from the ground, he felt Scorpius' hands on the small of his back, spotting him. Fortunately Albus had no trouble reaching the ground, and once the other six were successfully down they set off again, with Albus and Scorpius leading.

As they walked, Scorpius kept leaning closer to Albus so that their shoulders brushed.

"So this had been an exciting day for you." Scorpius said quietly to Albus.

"I guess." Albus replied.

"I mean you came out of the closet, snuck out and got drunk." Scorpius said with a grin, "Most excitement you've had in your whole life."

"And to think, you are responsible for all three." Albus replied thoughtfully, "Maybe I should thank you."

The comment caught Scorpius off guard, and he stuttered for a moment, before going silent. Albus grinned, delighted that he was able to leave the Slytherin at a loss of words for once. Scorpius frowned at how happy Albus looked. He was about to say something when there was a loud call from down the hall.

"Hey, whose down there?" A familiar voice rang out.

"Fuck." Albus cursed under his breath, "It's my brother."

* * *

><p>The moment Scorpius recognized the voice of James Potter, he knew he was in trouble. Once Albus too recognized his brother's voice, Scorpius realized he was in way more than just trouble. Not only were he and his friends walking around after curfew, they were drunk. Worse, they were carting around a drunken Albus Potter. James was going to assume that they lured his precious baby brother into their nightly antics to take advantage of him. Well, that was actually what they had been doing, but James Potter wasn't really supposed to figure that out.<p>

The group had stopped moving as soon as they heard the Head Boy call out. No one spoke a word, and the hallway was completely silent. Scorpius hoped that perhaps James would just move on. But, alas, a moment later a faint glow of a wand was visible, and coming towards them.

Unsure of what to do, Scorpius stood there watching as the light got closer and closer. Meanwhile Albus had let go of his hand and seemed to be reaching into the pocket of his robes.

"Here." He said to Scorpius, handing him the corner of a cloak. Scorpius recognized it as the one that Albus had been holding when he appeared on the rooftop earlier. Albus handed the other corner to Jaysen, and quietly instructed the two to hold it up like a curtain in front of themselves, and for everyone else to get behind it and duck down.

Everyone followed Albus' direction, although Scorpius had no idea what was going on. Through the cloak, Scorpius realized he could see almost the entire hall clearly, almost as if the cloth was made of foggy glass. Scorpius continued to watch as the ball of light grew closer and closer. As James' face slowly came into view, the Head Boy also recognized his brother.

"Albus?" He asked incredulously.

"Hello James." Albus replied, walking over to his brother.

"Albus, what are you doing here?" His brother asked, holding out the wand to see if anyone was behind his brother. Scorpius sucked in his breath, sure that they would be spotted. However, James seemed to not see them at all. Was he blind? It wasn't as if cloaks floated around the halls of Hogwarts at random. Why didn't James suspect anything? Turning back to his brother James continued, without Albus' reply.

"Lily has been worried sick about you. She tried to find you all during dinner, but you never showed up." James seemed uneasy when he mentioned dinner, even Scorpius could see that.

"I went back to my dorm. I was having a bad day." Albus replied steadily.

"There was a lot of talk about you at dinner. Apparently you and Rosie got into this big fight." James continued.

"Yes. We did." Albus stated.

"What was it about?" James said quietly.

"I think you already know." Albus replied quieter still.

There was a long moment of silence. The group of Slytherins stood huddled behind the cloak not making a sound. After a long while James spoke again.

"You smell like alcohol." He stated simply.

"I was drinking." Albus confirmed.

"Who were you with?" James asked again, glancing behind his brother. He again didn't seem to see the Slytherins. "Where did you get alcohol."

"I was by myself." Albus said.

"Bullshit. You don't drink Albus, there's no way you just went off and got plastered for the heck of it."

"I'm not that drunk James. And if you must know I got drunk so that I could get away from my mind for a little while. Today pretty much sucked."

There was another moment of silence.

"Are you gay?" James said suddenly.

"…Yeah." Albus replied uneasily.

"Shit…" James mumbled under his breath. "Geez Albus, cant you ever do anything right?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Albus said, suddenly angry.

"It means that you don't fit in at school, you alienate all your friends, and now you're gay. You're just trying to make yourself miserable."

"Its not as if I woke up this morning and thought, I like dick now." Albus replied loudly, "I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter."

"Please, like you've ever even tried to have a girlfriend. You'd like it if you would just try it. But NOOOO, Albus, you have to be the black sheep. You have to be the odd one out. You just like the attention."

"FUCK YOU JAMES. That's a laugh coming from you. You are quite possibly the most attention seeking guy I've ever met."

"Well at least I do it in a way that makes people like me."

"Well at least I don't live a lie. Even though you've convinced everyone else that you're perfect, you're really just a pretentious asshole."

The Potter brothers had slowly raised the volume of their conversation until the two were practically screaming at one another.

"You know what Albus, you're just a pathetic loser, and no one is ever going to like you." James finished loudly. It was extremely silent after James' outburst, and in that moment Andrew let out a small sneeze. The sound carried extremely well in the quiet corridor. James looked around frantically. He moved away from his brother and started walking towards Scorpius and his friends slowly, looking around cautiously. James was about two feet from the cloak when Scorpius heard the sound of a faint sob. A moment later there was a louder sob. Albus had begun to cry. James turned back towards his brother quickly with a frantic look on his face.

"Ahh… geez. Al… Al I didn't mean it. I'm sorry. I just… I just. Geez." James was trying to reassure his brother but Albus just started crying harder.

"Yo-you hate me because I'm ga-gay." He choked out.

"No! Albus, it's ok that you're gay, really!" He brother said quickly.

"You think that I'm just do-doing it for attention." Albus whined, following the declaration with another loud sob.

"I take it back. I'm sorry Al." James said patting his brother on the back. Albus' sobs quieted a little and he looked up at his brother.

"Do you really mean it?" Albus asked in a quiet voice.

"Of course Albus. You're my brother." He said, as if that cleared up everything. "Come one, lets get you back to the common room. James put his arm around his brother, and a moment later they were walking down the hall, away from Scorpius and his friends. When they were about 30 feet away, Albus turned his head around and winked in their direction.

Once the brothers had turned the corner of the hall and were out of site Scorpius and Jaysen let the cloak drop.

"What the fuck just happened?" Jaysen whispered loudly.

"I believe that Albus Potter just saved all of our asses." Sullivan responded.

"And what the hell is this?" Jaysen asked holding up his corner of the cloak.

"An invisibilty cloak, obviously. What did you think that James Potter just really needed glasses?" Sullivan teased.

Scorpius looked at the cloak in his hand, finally understanding what it was.  
>"How the hell did Potter get his hands on an invisibility cloak?" Scorpius asked aloud.<p>

"Dunno…" Sullivan responded.

"I like Albus." Wendy said.

"Me too." Stephanie slurred, barely conscious, still on Sullivan's back.

"You're both drunk." Scorpius said with a tone of disapproval. "Come on, let's go back."

With out another word the group moved down the hall quietly and made their way back to the dungeons.

* * *

><p>AN: I'm editing this chapter after a reviewer noticed a mistake, and I actually caught another one myself. For you astronomy nerds out there, I apologize. The Scorpius constellation is actually in the southern hemisphere, and therefore wouldn't be seen in Scotland. This is what happens when you don't do your research people!


	8. Chapter 8

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>The next morning when Albus woke up he was aware of two things. Number one, drinking fire whiskey was a very bad idea. Number two, he needed food more than he ever had in his entire life. Groaning loudly from his combined famish, headache and nausea Albus struggled to get out of bed. Once he sat up he pulled the curtains aside from his four-poster bed and groaned even louder. The large clock that hung on the wall of his dorm announced that it was 11:00. Not only had Albus missed breakfast by a long shot, he also had an hour to wait until lunch. There was no way he would last that long, Albus decided standing up.<p>

After standing Albus immediately sat back down. The entire room was spinning and Albus was obviously in no condition to go anywhere. Shaking his head Albus decided that he would just go back to bed and wait for lunch, but a loud grumbling in his stomach convinced him that he would never get to sleep without food. As this mental debate raged on Albus was interrupted by a loud tapping on the window outside. Glancing over Albus saw a large black and brown barn owl, hovering outside the window with a letter clasped in its beak.

"Aurora!" Albus exclaimed. He got up slowly this time and made his way over to the window sluggishly so he could open it up for the bird. As soon as the window was opened the owl zoomed in and landed on top of Albus' wardrobe.

"Come on down girl." Albus called sweetly, gesturing at her to fly down. Aurora didn't move a muscle.

"Come on give me the letter." Albus called a little more harshly. Still the bird didn't move.

"Look, I'm sorry I wasn't at breakfast, I was very tired." Albus explained.

When the owl still stayed on top of his wardrobe Albus sighed and turned to get into his trunk. I moment later he pulled out a bag of owl snacks. He shook the bag and Aurora turned and gazed at Albus intently. Sighing again, Albus shook a handful of the little pellets into his hand and held them out to the bird. Immediately the owl zoomed down and landed on Albus wrist. She pecked up all of the pellets in record time, and was even careful not to nip Albus' hand, which was surprising seeing as how moody she had been a minute ago.

When the pile of snacks was gone Albus pet the owl for a moment or two before dumping another small pile of snacks out on his bed, and going to retrieve the letter from Teddy that the owl had dropped. Albus knew the letter was from his foster brother because Aurora was Teddy's owl. His own father had given it to Teddy as a gift upon entering Hogwarts, and Albus knew the owl rather well. Teddy usually wrote to Albus a couple times a month during the school year, and so Albus had been expecting a letter soon anyways. Ripping open the letter, Albus sat on his bed and read.

Hey Albus!

How's my favorite little brother doing? Really, I was just asking that to be polite, the truth is I already know how fantastic things are for you. Harry told me all about your summer trip to Saudi Arabia! I'm so excited for you! I know how much this means to you and I also know how much fun you are going to have. I can't wait to see you and hear more about it. I just wanted to write you and say congratulations! I know you were worried that this year was going to be tough, but I told you everything would work out, didn't I? And look at that, I was right. Not much of a surprise really, I'm always right. Since I knew you were wondering nothing is new with me, just working and hanging out with Vic a bunch. Write me back when you get a chance, I want to hear about school. Alright, later!

Love,  
>T<p>

Albus re-read the letter twice before putting it down. He was happy that Teddy had written him. Teddy and Albus had always had a special bond. Besides Rose, Teddy was the only person who Albus trusted with everything. Teddy had always known how badly Albus wanted to be a curse breaker and so it would make sense that he would be excited about the Saudi Arabia trip.

However there was one part of the letter that Albus worried about. Teddy had said, "I know how great things are going for you". Although that was true academically, in terms of his emotions Albus was doing pretty horribly. Although last night had been a good escape from his problems, it hadn't made them disappear. If anything Albus had more problems because now, instead of wanting to avoid Scorpius Malfoy he wanted to spend more time the Slytherin and his friends.

Albus wasn't sure if he was ready to tell Teddy all of this. Teddy didn't even know that Albus was gay! Important information like that didn't exactly seem like something you could write in a letter. Plus if Teddy got the impression that Albus was depressed or unhappy he would tell his parents. The last thing Albus wanted were his parents worrying about him and his lack of friends.

Aurora had finished her pile of food and hopped over to where Albus was sitting. She began gently pecking his hand, obviously wanting more food. Albus realized that he would have to write Teddy back, but he was in no mood right now. Albus walked back over the window, and gestured that the bird go back outside.

"Go up to the owlry." Albus said to the bird. She looked back at him with disgust.

"Come on, I'll be up in a little while with a letter for Teddy." At the mention of Teddy's name the bird grudgingly started to move.

"And Mirzam is up there…" Albus added with a grin.

At the mention of Mirzam, Aurora perked up, and quickly flew out the window. Albus couldn't help but chuckle. Mirzam was the name of the Potter children's owl. Albus, James and Lily all shared one owl while at school, and it was a well-known fact that Aurora and Mirzam were madly in love.

When Teddy sent a letter sometimes it took days to get a reply to him because Aurora refused to leave the owlry. Usually Mirzam would just get sent back along with Teddy's owl, and even then he would stay at Teddy's place for a while before returning to Hogwarts. This sometimes made sending letters difficult, especially since the owl was shared between the three siblings, but they all thought it was so cute that they couldn't ever get mad at either Aurora or Mirzam.

Albus' stomach started the growl again and he was reminded of his hunger. Feeling a little better, Albus stowed the letter from Teddy beneath his pillow and got dressed before heading out of his dorms in search of the kitchen.

A few minutes later Albus was walking down the hall away from the Gryffindor common room, and thinking of all the delicious food he could have the house-elves make for him. Suddenly he heard a loud shout from behind him.

"ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER!"

Alarmed Albus turned around quickly to see who had screamed at him. The hall was relatively empty so it wasn't hard to spot the small figure that was currently speeding toward him shaking her arms and yelling more.

It was Lily Potter, and she was furious.

* * *

><p>When Scorpius Malfoy woke up the next morning he was aware of another person in his bed, snuggling up to his side. Confused Scorpius looked and found that it was Stephanie.<p>

"Steph?" he said gently, running his fingers through her soft brown hair.

"Hmm?" Came the soft response. Steph didn't open her eyes but seemed awake enough.

"What are you doing in my bed?" he asked.

"I'm sleepy." She replied with an exaggerated yawn.

"Yes, well, so am I and if I recall you have a perfectly good bed across the hall." Stephanie chose not to respond to this, and pretended that she had fallen back asleep. Scorpius rolled his eyes at her childish antics and began to glance around the room. The curtains of his bed were pulled aside and they allowed him to see every other bed in the room. Jaysen was clearly visible in his bed and Andrew was still in bed as well. Scorpius also noticed that Sullivan and Trey were not in their beds. Trey was most likely at quidditch practice on a Saturday morning, but Sullivan, as far as Scorpius knew, had nothing to do.

A moment later Scorpius' question was answered when Sullivan came bursting into the dorm, hands full of what smelled like breakfast. Scorpius didn't think it was possible to love his friend any more than he did in that moment.

"Morning Scorpius, I see you're awake." Sullivan greeted cheerfully.

"Barely… Is that food?" Scorpius asked, suddenly aware of how hungry he was.

Sullivan grinned, holding up one bag. "Yep. I realized none of you were going to get up in time for breakfast so I picked some up for you."

Suddenly Jaysen sat up in his bed. "I smell scones." He said.

Sullivan reached into the bag and grabbed him one, then lightly tossed it across the room. Jaysen tried to catch it but missed. Thankfully the scone dropped onto the bed, where Jaysen immediately picked it back up and shoved the entire thing into his mouth. A moment later he had swallowed it and was looking at Sullivan as if expecting another one.

Sullivan sighed and turned to Scorpius. "If I let him have anymore there wont be enough for the girls. Someone should go get them."

Scorpius nodded and turned, shoving Steph out of his bed.

She hit the ground with a loud thud, which was followed by a loud groan.

"What the fuck Scorpius?" She whined, slowly standing up.

"Go get Wendy and Tess. We have breakfast." Scorpius informed her.

"No!" She pouted, trying to get back in the bed. "I have a head ache, I need sleep." Scorpius wouldn't allow her back in and pointed towards the door.

"Go." He commanded pointing her finger toward the door. She glared at him and huffed off.

"And why were you in my bed anyways?" He shouted after her, a moment later.

Stephanie didn't even turn around, but just shrugged and continued out the door.

Once she was gone, Sullivan answered Scorpius' question.

"Steph refused to go back to her own room last night when we got back here, I tried for a while to get her to go to bed but finally I just let her come up here. You all were already passed out and she just climbed into your bed. I figured you wouldn't mind."

Scorpius shrugged. It really wasn't a big deal, Stephanie and him had slept in the same bed a multitude of times. That wasn't to say that they slept together, they hadn't. Scorpius and Steph had been friends since age two and so their relationship was more like that of siblings than anything else. Even when they got older and Steph started getting really pretty Scorpius never thought any different about her. She was still the same old Steph, who he used to dare to lick slugs in his backyard for chocolate.

Scorpius got up, combed his hair, put on a new shirt and grabbed a scone. By that time the girls had come back. They all had a hard time waking up Andy, who slept like a bear in the midst of hibernation. Finally when they were all awake Sullivan broke open his bags of breakfast and they devoured the food.

Only after everyone had their fill, and they were all lounging around the room quite contentedly did Wendy bring up the topic they were all thinking about.

"So… Albus Potter?"

* * *

><p>"Morning Lily." Albus greeted his sister in a nervous voice.<p>

"Morning Lily? MORNING LILY! Is that all you have to say?" She yelled at him. Albus, being quite sure that this was a rhetorical question, didn't say anything.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?" She commanded, jabbing her finger into his chest. Again Albus decided it better to stay quiet.

"First you run out of the common room like a crazy person looking for Rose. Then I hear all these weird rumors about you during dinner, which you don't even bother showing up to! Then you disappear for the rest of the night. And the next morning you don't even show up the breakfast? I was about to go find Professor Longbottom and tell him that you had gone missing! I can't believe this; you better have a good reason for making me worry so much. Well come on now! Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

Albus opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word out, his stomach interjected with a loud rumble. Lily looked at him, clearly surprised.

"I'm pretty hungry. Can we go get food. I promise I'll explain on the way. Lily gave him a curt nod, and Albus grinned. He put his arm around his sister and steered her down the hallway.

"I'm sorry I made you worry Lils." He said quietly.

"That's alright, I'm just glad that you are okay." She responded with a small smile.

"Yes… well more or less." Albus began, "I suppose I should start this story at the beginning."

"I'm all ears." Lily responded patiently.

Sighing Albus though about where he would start his story.

"Well I guess it all starts with those rumors you heard about." He said glancing sideways at her. Lily didn't respond but just looked back at her brother, waiting for him to continue.

"I've been… thinking a lot this year. About a lot of things." He started.

"Just tell me Albus." Lily responded quietly.

Albus didn't know how to react to her request. It was obvious that Lily knew what he was thinking. Albus had already accepted it, and all she wanted him to do was tell her. But saying it was so much harder than he thought it would be. James was one thing. Albus had never been good enough it James' eyes anyways. But Lily was his little sister; he was supposed to protect her. He wasn't supposed to throw all his problems in her face and make her deal with them.

"Albus." She said squeezing his hand, "You know I'll always love you no matter what." She continued to hold his hand tight and he looked down at her.

"I'm gay." He finally said. Lily gave a loud sigh.

"Alright." She responded. Albus waited but she didn't seem to have anything else to say.

"Lily, I just want you to know that I wasn't keeping this from you. I mean it honestly never even occurred to me until a couple days ago." Albus said trying to fill the silence.

"Well in that case I think I've known longer than you have." She laughed.

"What?" Albus exclaimed. His shock made Lily laugh again.

"I dunno. I mean it's not like I would have ever said anything. I guess I shouldn't say that I knew, it's more like when I heard last night I wasn't surprised."

"Because I've never had a girlfriend?" Albus asked.

"Well yeah. And other things."

"Like what?" Albus asked, extremely curious. Lily rolled her eyes as if her brother was being ridiculous.

"Well, when we took the chunnel to France for the weekend this summer to visit uncle Bill, I remember a bunch of us went shopping in all the muggle stores. You wanted to go into this book store so we split up and like an hour later when we were trying to meet up you didn't show. So James and Louis sent me to go find you. And when I found you, you were still in the same bookstore, having this in-depth conversation about some silly novel with this guy that worked there."

"Yeah, I remember that." Albus said thinking back, "His name was Sebastian. He was telling me about anthropology, this thing muggles study. It was really interesting."

"Yeah, well he was totally hitting on you." Lily informed her brother.  
>This time it was Albus' turn to laugh. "Um, no Lily, I'm pretty sure that he wasn't."<p>

"Yes he was," Lily continued, " And you were flirting back with him."

"I was not!" Albus exclaimed.

"Alby, you were giggling, and running your hands through your hair and leaning towards him and smiling. You were flirting. And he was totally into it. Whether or not you meant to, you were. I mean, I didn't jump to any conclusions then, but I was surprised because I never had seen you act like that around someone before, especially a girl. So I just thought that maybe you were more into boys."

"I didn't like him." Albus said, almost in defense.

"I know you didn't Albus." Lily laughed, "But you liked the attention he gave you."

Albus tried really hard to think back to that day. All he could remember was that the guy who had worked at the bookstore, Sebastian, had spoken English, and showed him some really cool books about archeology and called his attempts to speak French cute. But, had they really been flirting? Albus just thought he was a nice guy. Well, he had been pretty cute too…

"Oh Merlin." Albus mumbled to himself.

"It's not a big deal Albus." Lily said trying to comfort him

"No, I feel so stupid. How could you have realized something that I couldn't?"

"It's hard to accept things sometimes. Really Alby, please don't worry about it. Besides, it seems like you have even bigger worries right now."

"You mean my stomach?" Albus said, as it gave another loud grumble.

Lily rolled her eyes at her brother and whacked him on the arm. "No! I mean with Rosie."

At the mention of his cousin, Albus' mood darkened. "I don't want to talk about that." He said, walking faster down the hall to move away from his sister. Lily caught back up to her brother in a moment.

"Come on Albus. What happened? You've never been this mad at her before. You've never ignored her."

"She told her stupid boyfriend who told my stupid roommates that I was gay before I had even really accepted it, and they ambushed me and harassed me and accused me of perving on them all year. When I confronted her, she seemed to think she had done the right thing. I just snapped and started screaming at her in the middle of the Great Hall."

"Oh Albus." Lily said hugging her brother's arm close. "I'm so sorry. Rosie would do anything for that stupid boyfriend of hers." Lily sighed.

"Yeah, well I haven't forgiven her. But, I've started to think that maybe it is better this way." Albus replied.

"Really? Better?" Lily wondered.

"Well I can't exactly feel welcome in my room anymore…" Albus started, "But I do feel a lot more free, if that makes sense. Almost as if even though people know, it's not something that I have to be embarrassed about."

Albus looked down and smiled at his sister.

"That does make sense, and I'm very proud of you. If I hear anyone trying to talk badly about you, I'll curse them into next year!"

Albus laughed at how animated his sister had suddenly become, and it dawned on him that perhaps he didn't need to protect her as much as he thought. She was much more mature than he gave her credit for, and she seemed to take his news very well.

Just as they reached the kitchens, Lily stopped her brother again.

"I just have one more question." She said with a large smile.

"What is it?" Albus wondered.

"Now that you know you like boys, do you like any boy in particular?"

Albus sighed. He considered just telling her no and moving on, but he was dying to tell someone about Scorpius. Besides if Lily could handle him coming out of the closet he was sure she could handle his little crush on Scorpius Malfoy.

"That's another story entirely." He started scratching his head. "One that I really can't get through without some food in my stomach." He opened the door to the kitchen and motioned her inside.

"Come on. I'll tell you over breakfast."

* * *

><p>The room grew deadly silent after Wendy's little announcement. Everyone turned to look at Scorpius, waiting for him to say something about the matter.<p>

"What about Albus Potter?" Scorpius asked casually, although everyone could tell he was angry the topic had come up.

"Well last night was a little unexpected, don't you think?" Wendy continued.

Again the room was silent until Scorpius spoke.

"I sure wasn't expecting him to save us from James Potter if that's what you mean."

"Well yeah, there was that. But, what about even before. I mean he got drunk. We got Albus Potter drunk, and he seemed to have a good time."

"Yeah, that's because you were all too nice to him." Andrew complained. "We were supposed to be teasing him. Remember?"

"Yeah right Andrew." Jaysen laughed, "I'm pretty sure you were the one who said he was 'cooler than you thought he would be'."

Andrew turned a little red, embarrassed at what he had said the night before. "Well at least I didn't promise to defend his honor by beating up his cousin and brother like you did Jaysen."

"Hey don't look at me!" Jaysen said pointing at Wendy, "She was the one who was all over him, calling him nicknames and acting like the best of friends."

"Stop it." Scorpius said firmly. "You were all drunk, so you acted nice. We just wont let it happen again." Scorpius leaned back in his chair, as if to signal that the conversation about Albus Potter had come to a close. Stephanie however, thought differently.

"That advice is a little hypocritical coming from you Scorp." She said a moment later.

Angrily Scorpius turned to her, "And what is that supposed to mean?" He asked glaring.

"It MEANS that I was almost unconscious and I still noticed that you were awfully touchy-feely with Albus. Holding his hand if I remember correctly." She said with a grin. Scorpius glared at her even harder.

"Yes well I'm supposed to act like I like the kid right? I thought that was my job, make him fall in love with me and then break his heart. And then we all have a good laugh. Has everyone forgotten that?" He asked angrily glancing around.

"Oh, so is that what you were doing? Pretending?" Stephanie pressed.

"Yes of course!" Scorpius answered quickly.

"Could have fooled me." Stephanie replied so quietly that Scorpius just pretended he hadn't heard it.

The room was awkwardly quiet again, no one sure how to move the conversation forward. Finally Wendy spoke up.  
>"I don't like that plan." She mumbled into her lap.<p>

"What?" Jaysen asked, clearly confused.

"I don't want to hurt Albus anymore." She said, still softly. "I like him, he's nice."  
>Scorpius stood up, still glaring and walked over to his trunk. He opened it and reached in and pulled out the invisibility cloak Albus had left with them last night.<p>

"Well that's too bad Wendy." He said walking towards the door. "Because that's what we are going to do."

Without another word Scorpius walked out of the room.


	9. Chapter 9

Here's the deal. You don't mention how I suck at updating and I give you this chapter. Sound good?

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><p>Scorpius Malfoy walked the halls of Hogwarts silently fuming. He had left his friends behind in the dorm room just minutes ago. He couldn't handle how frustrated they were making him. Taking the cloak back to Albus seemed like a good way to get away from them all for a while.<p>

However, as soon as he left the common room Scorpius noticed a few flaws in his plan. Number one, he had absolutely no idea where Albus Potter was or where to find him. Number two, although he had left his friends behind, he couldn't forget what they had said, and that was what had really bothered him. Number three, even if he did find Albus, which was his current intended goal, he wasn't even sure if he wanted to see the Gryffindor, since Albus was the one creating all the issues in the first place.

Scorpius sighed and glared at a couple of underclass Ravenclaws who happened to glance at him as they walked past. They quickly scampered away, leaving Scorpius in an empty hallway.

The Slytherin stopped walking for a moment in an attempt to collect his thoughts but it seemed to be futile. Ever since he had woken up he hadn't been able to stop thinking about Albus. It didn't help that the boy seemed to be all his friends were interested in discussing. Even in Scorpius' own mind he couldn't forget how much he had touched the boy or how every touch had made the Gryffindor blush like a little virgin. Geez, the boy probably was a virgin. A little gay virgin who had a fat crush on him. Scorpius let out a loud sigh. He did not like Albus Potter. Sure, the puppy love act was kind of cute, but that didn't mean that Scorpius was going to allow Albus to get the best of him. He definitely wasn't going to let Albus weasel his way into his friend group either, no matter how much Wendy seemed to want to adopt the guy like a sad little kitten.

It wasn't as if Scorpius would be against having a fling with a boy like Albus Potter, hell he had done it before with boys and it sure didn't bother him. The key was, boys _like_ Albus Potter. He couldn't let himself get attached to "chosen one" junior, it was a matter of principle. Everyone worshipped the Potters, and their wonderful children were loved almost as much as Harry Potter himself. Scorpius on the other hand, had been raised in a family that was practically torn apart by the choices of him parents and grandparents, choices that people somehow blamed Scorpius for. Regardless of how "cute" Albus was, there were some things that couldn't be overlooked.

There was also the fact that Albus was a Gryffindor in general. Gryffindor's always took the longest to get into bed. Despite their obviously high libido, they had some deranged sense of honor, which usually called for monogamous relationships and a "meaningful" first time. Scorpius didn't really do meaningful, hence he tended to avoid Gryffindors unless he found a rare gem like Isabella Swane, who was just a whore through and through.

There, it was settled then, Scorpius decided. He wasn't going to go after Albus any longer. The boy wasn't worth the trouble. Instead Scorpius would end the little game today, when he returned the cloak, and watch the poor sap's face droop in pathetic disappointment. True, it wasn't exactly the broken and sobbing way he had hoped to leave Albus Potter, but it was the best Scorpius could come up with on short notice. Looking back, the plan was too risky even to begin with. Fuck around with a few first years and no one will say much. But fuck around with Albus Potter? That was bound to turn a few heads, especially if the boy's father found out. Not to mention his big brother was head boy this year. The whole thing was too risky. It was better to just end it now. He would go back to his friends and tell them that the plan was off, and that Albus Potter was no longer their interest. He was sure they would listen, they always did.

No sooner had Scorpius come to this mental decision then he saw a messy mop of black hair crossing the corridor in front of him. Not believing his luck, Scorpius sped up him pace and turned down the hall to follow the boy. Albus seemed to not have seen Scorpius, for he continued his way down the hall alone. Scorpius noticed the letter clutched in the Gryffindor's hand, and surmised that he was going to the owlry.

Perfect, Scorpius thought to himself. A nice quiet secluded place, he could hand over the cloak without anyone seeing or asking annoying questions. After he gave the cloak back he would walk out and never speak to Albus Potter again. End of story.

* * *

><p>Climbing the stairs to the owlry Albus found himself in an extremely contented mood. After getting breakfast in his stomach he felt a million times better, and his headache had faded around the same time. There was of course also his conversation with Lily that morning. For some reason his sister always made him feel happier about his life in general. Lily always supported Albus, in whatever he was doing. Having her support in something as new and confusing as his sexual preferences made him feel more at ease.<p>

He laughed to himself when he remembered her reaction to his crush.

"Scorpius MALFOY?" She had asked, her face frozen in a look of horror.

Albus had stuttered a reply about how it would never go anywhere and how he knew that Scorpius was bad news and it was just a silly crush and he would get over it.

"Get over it? Why? Scorpius is hot. I would totally go for it!" Lily had said this with such a sincere tone that Albus thought maybe she had gone crazy.

"Albus, you could benefit from a little danger in your life." She had told him. Well, Albus couldn't argue with that. His life was far from dangerous, unless he considered spending time with his roommates dangerous. Dangerous to his level of intellect, that is.

After describing what had happened the night before to his little sister she had practically peed herself in excitement.

"Is he into you? He totally sounds into you!" She had… well the only way Albus could describe it was "gushed". Lily had treated him like one of her girlfriends. Albus supposed that this was probably a fantasy of girls, to have gay brothers or gay friends that they could "gush" to.

"Aren't you going to tell me to be careful?" He'd asked her. Her reply had been surprising.

"You're too careful as it is. I'm telling you to be spontaneous."

Albus gave another chuckle as he reached the top of the owlry. His sister sure was full of surprises.

He glanced down at the letter clutched in his hand. That was another piece of advice that his sister had given him, to tell Teddy. Lily was convinced that their god brother would understand and support him one hundred percent, and would be able to help explain things to the rest of the family when the time came. The idea of explaining "things" to the rest of his extremely large family terrified Albus, so Teddy seemed like a good, safe way to start. He opened the envelope and read over the letter, trying to decide if there was anything worth changing before he sent it.

Teddy,

Thanks for the letter. I really loved hearing from you, and I know Aurora appreciates the time with her boyfriend. About Saudi Arabia, can you believe it? Me, going to Saudi Arabia? I'm too excited for words. I can't wait to go, and I also cant wait to come back and tell you all about it.

School has been all right this year. I think we both know Hogwarts hasn't been my favorite place in the past, but I'm trying to make the best of it. Rose and I are having some… differences in opinion, mostly surrounding her choice of friends, but I'm sure it'll blow over. Actually, besides that, there has been a lot going on with me this year. I've been thinking about a lot of things and, well, I just want to be able to talk to someone about these things. I know that I can trust you Teddy, and so I was hoping I could talk to you about them. It's not exactly something I feel comfortable writing in a letter, but if we could meet and talk… well that would just be really great. No rush or anything! Its not an emergency so don't worry! And… well, maybe don't tell my dad about this. It's nothing bad I swear! I'm just not ready to talk to him about it.

Thanks Teddy! I love you and I miss you tons, send Victoire my love.

See you.

-Albus

Putting the letter back in the envelope, Albus licked it closed with a sigh. No matter what way he phrased it, the letter was awkward. Albus just hoped that Teddy would listen and keep the news to himself. He did not need his father, or worse his mother, rushing to school to see what was wrong with him.

Spotting Aurora and Mirzam snuggling in the corner of the owlry, Albus walked over to them. He gave both owls a little scratch under the beak, before attempting to attach the letter to Aurora's leg. Mirzam's beak shot out and nipped him hard on the hand.

"OW!" Albus yelled out in surprise. Albus glared down but the owl gave him a stubborn look. Albus attempted to attach the letter again, but this time he got a scratch from a claw.

"DAMN BIRD!" He yelled at Mirzam. The owl seemed to shake the comment off and glanced around the owlry as if to say, 'use one of them'.

"There is no way I am sending a school owl when I have two perfectly capable owls in front of me!" He said angrily.

Aurora ruffled her feathers a little but didn't move.

"This is kind of important." Albus explained. Immediately after he felt silly. Why was he explaining something to a bird? He reached out again, dedicated to attach the letter this time. He ignored the nips on his hand, and when the letter was successfully attached, waved Aurora off.

"Go on." He said forcefully, "Go home now." Reluctantly, Aurora slowly hopped over to the window, Mirzam frantically hopping after her in distress. She glanced back and then took flight, soaring down, over the grounds before turning south.

As soon as Aurora left Mirzam visibly deflated. His little owl shoulders hunched down, and he closed his eyes, as if silently lamenting the loss of his love.

"Oh brother." Albus sighed, "Well go on, go after her."

No sooner had the words left his mouth then the bird perked up and immediately flew out of the window after Aurora. Albus couldn't help but smile. Who was he to come between true love?

Watching the two birds fly off, Albus felt relaxed. Teddy would get his letter, and they would talk and everything would be ok. Suddenly there came a voice from behind him.

"Must have been an important letter to merit two owls."

Albus spun around quickly, already knowing who the voice belonged to.

But it couldn't be!

But it was.

Scorpius Malfoy.

* * *

><p>After Scorpius had called out to Albus he watched the boy slowly turn around. Once they made eye contact Albus eyes widened and he stared at the Slytherin. A moment later he seemed to process what Scorpius had said.<p>

"Oh. They're in love." He said quickly. Then as if realized what he had said, Albus turned red and started to stutter, "The- the owls!" He continued. "The owls are in love."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow and walked over to the window he had seen the birds exit.

"I see." He said simply. Albus walked over to the window and stood next to the other boy, watching the owls become smaller and smaller as they flew away.

"One owl is the family pet, and the other belongs to my god brother. They hate to be apart so I usually send them out together. It makes them happy, plus Mirzam is mopey and nips a lot more otherwise."

"How do you get your mail then?" Scorpius asked, looking at Albus like he was crazy for playing match-maker for two birds.

"It comes." Albus said dismissively. "Eventually…"

"Huh." Came Scorpius' disinterested reply. Well, this was it. Time to give the cloak back and leave. There was no need to prolong the exchange.

"I brought you this." Scorpius said, tossing the balled up cloak to the boy. Albus caught it quickly and smiled when he recognized his cloak.

"Thank you." He said quietly. "I wasn't sure if I would ever see this again. It's not really even mine, so that would have been bad." Albus chuckled, and put the cloak into his robes.

"What do you mean you didn't think you would see it again?" Scorpius asked confused. Albus looked nervous and seemed to choose his words carefully before answering.

"Well, it is an invisibility cloak, they are pretty rare. Also, no offense, but you're not exactly famous for you're honesty."

Scorpius looked at the Gryffindor, shocked, as he understood what the boy was implying.

"You thought I was going to steal it?" He asked. Albus gave a weak nod.

"Albus, you used it to save us all from getting detention remember? Why would I steal it from you?" A moment after he had spoken the words, Scorpius realized that if he was trying to remove Albus Potter from his life stealing priceless family heirlooms would have been a great idea. The fact that Scorpius hadn't even thought of it worried him. Was he going soft? Also, why was he calling him Albus. He should be calling him Potter, or lion, or kid. Yeah, that was nice and demeaning. Kid.

"Oh right." Albus said with a small grin. "Your welcome for that by the way."

"Oh… uh, thanks." Scorpius replied sheepishly. "Kid." He added on the end.

Albus grinned even larger. Dammit! It had come out sounding like some weird pet name. He should just stick with Potter.

"I consider us even. I mean I really appreciate what you did for me last night. You know, just getting away from my roommates. Even if I did wake up in hell this morning."

Scorpius couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for the boy. He had forgotten that Albus wasn't used to drinking, his hangover had probably been killer.

"Did you hurl?" He asked, trying to sound as uncaring as possible.

"No, but I had a wicked headache, and I was starving. Missed breakfast." He explained. Scorpius thought about how Sullivan had brought them all breakfast. He felt a little sorry for Albus, sick and starving all alone is his room.

Dammit! What was happening, why was he pitying Albus bloody Potter, he was supposed to be ending this, instead he was getting more attached. Somehow he had let Albus lead the conversation. It was time to change that. He needed Albus to be the uncomfortable one.

"I have a question for you." Scorpius asked suddenly. Albus' shoulders tensed. After a moment of silence Scorpius continued.

"Its about something you said last night."

"Alright." Albus replied hesitantly.

"You said I was responsible for you coming out of the closet." Scorpius prompted. Another moment of silence past.

"That isn't a question." Albus replied, turning and leaning his back against the windowsill.

"I want to know why." Scorpius persisted, mimicking Albus and turning his back to the window. Albus glanced down at his feet and shrugged. Scorpius practically grinned in triumph, this was the shy Albus Potter that he liked. Nice and easy to manipulate.

"That's not an answer." Scorpius whispered leaning in closer to the boy.

"I guess I just thought that I couldn't be sure I was gay until I liked a boy. I mean that's what being gay is, isn't it? Liking boys." Albus spoke the words to his feet, but Scorpius heard them easily enough.

"Are you saying you like me?" This time he really did grin.

"Didn't you already know that?" Albus asked, sounding a little annoyed.

"Well, I've never actually heard you say it." Scorpius grinned again. Albus frowned slightly then turned to look at Scorpius.

"Well, I do. I like you." He said staring right at the Slytherin. For some reason it unsettled Scorpius. He didn't know how to respond. Before he could say anything Albus spoke again.

"Don't worry, I know you don't like me." He said seriously.

"Oh?" Scorpius couldn't help but chuckle.

"You're not even gay." Albus said.

"I'm a swing player. I can play for play for both teams, when the mood strikes me." Scorpius replied, crossing his arms.

"Oh…" Albus said. He seemed to think about that for a moment before moving a hand to bite one of his fingernails.

Scorpius couldn't quite decide what he was doing. He was obviously encouraging the Gryffindor, which was the exact opposite of what he came to do, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Being around Albus was the most entertaining thing that had happened to him recently. After the innocent little love confession, Scorpius wanted to mess with Albus Potter all over again. He couldn't help it, the boy was his opposite; innocent, honest and shy. It drew him in. It was fascinating and exciting.

Watching Albus blushing and biting his fingers Scorpius felt the urge to touch the boy again.

"That's a nasty habit." Scorpius said. He reached out and grabbed Albus' hand, holding it in his, examining the long fingers, and the short stubby nails. He felt Albus' arm instinctively jerk and glanced over to watch the boy's face turn beet red.

Scorpius couldn't resist it. He had such a control over Albus. He loved the feeling of having power over another person, and with Albus he was becoming addicted to it. Slowly he brought the hand he was holding up to his lips and gave it the tiniest kiss.

"The verdict is still out." He said letting Albus' hand go and leaning closer to the boy.

"What?" Albus whispered nervously.

"On whether I like you or not. But I'm willing to do more research." Scorpius winked at the boy and watched happily as the boy turned impossibly more red. With that Scorpius turned and walked back towards the door of the owlry, with the intention of walking away and not turning back.

"Scorpius!" He heard a frantic call as he reached the door. He turned and raised an eyebrow back at Albus.

"I- I didn't. I mean, well, I didn't really think you would have stolen it. The cloak I mean." He sputtered. When he finished the boy looked relieved, as if he had gotten something off of his chest.

"Good to know." Scorpius replied casually. Then he turned and left the owlry, leaving the Gryffindor red-faced and alone. Scorpius wouldn't have known, but Albus stood in the same spot a few minutes more. After a while a small smile slowly grew on his face.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter ten! I can hardly believe I've written ten chapters, it seems like so many! Thanks so much to everyone who has been reviewing and following my story! You guys are all so great, and as you can see all the positive reinforcement is really helping me get these chapters up way quicker… heh heh

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><p>Albus Potter stood in the Owlry grinning like an idiot for almost ten minutes.<p>

Scorpius might like him.

Despite the warning signals going off in the back of his head, Albus couldn't help but feel ridiculously happy. Sure, Scorpius and his friends could be downright evil sometimes, but they had been nice to him… for the most part. Scorpius had returned his cloak, and the blond might even like him.

Albus thought back to his first meeting with Scorpius' friends in the woods. Sure they had seemed terrible, but looking back they had simply been telling the truth. Albus did have a secret crush on Scorpius, and he was kind of a loser. If anything Scorpius and his friends were just honest with Albus. Honesty was a good thing right?

And besides, so what if they did bully him a little in the past, Scorpius might like him!

Albus could have spent the hours standing there if it had not been for the first year that chose that moment to send off a letter to his mum. Once Albus saw the other student, he was brought out of his daydreaming. Blushing furiously he ran past the boy and down the stairs out of the owlry.

For the rest of the day Albus had to put a lot of effort into keeping a silly smile off of his face. But even his best efforts couldn't stop him from occasionally reaching down and touching the back of his hand, the very same spot where someone's lips had been.

* * *

><p>Scorpius walked back into his room almost an hour after he stormed out, with a big smile on his face. His friends were surprised to say the least, to see him back so soon, and looking so happy. Steph was the first to comment on how he returned empty-handed.<p>

"You must have found Albus." She said softly, pouting at Scorpius. She was afraid that his smile was the result of tormenting the poor boy.

"Yep." Was Scorpius' cheeky response. He laid down on his bed and tucked his hands behind his head, looking very pleased with himself.

"As much as we love this little game you always play Scorpius, just tell us what happened." Steph said angrily.

"I gave the bloke his cloak." Scorpius said with a chuckle. No one else thought his rhyme was funny.

"And then?" Andrew prompted.

"We talked." Scorpius continued with a shrug.

"About?" Tess almost yelled.

"Oh this and that." Scorpius said. He could tell that his friends were about to hex him into oblivion so the blond sat up and continued. "Oh, you know there was one part of the conversation you might find interesting. Albus told me that he liked me and then I told him that I liked him and then I kissed him."

There was a split second of silence in the room before everyone started yelling.

"Wait, WHAT?"

"What did he say?"

"You did WHAT?"

"YOU KISSED HIM?"

"I only kissed him on the hand." Scorpius said, choosing to answer the last question he heard.

The room went silent again.

"The hand?" Andrew asked, "that's pretty gay."

"Yes, well that is the idea isn't it." Wendy said with a giggle.

"Come on, there is no way, you told him that you liked him!" Jaysen said. "Why would you do that? You practically bit our heads off this morning for even suggesting the idea!"

"Maybe I was lying." Scorpius said rolling his eyes. "Like I've never done that before."

"Sounds like you have a new plan." Sullivan suggested from his bed.

"Indeed I do." Scorpius said with another grin on his face.

Everyone waited for Scorpius to tell them, but the Slytherin seemed to need more encouragement.

Stephanie rolled her eyes and with a loud sigh asked, "Oh, Scorpius wont you please tell us what your new, amazing, wonderful plan is?"

"Well since you said please. I took what you all said into consideration this morning, about not hating Albus and not wanting to hurt him. I completely agree, I don't exactly hate Albus either, I think he is very interesting and entertaining, but he is still a Gryffindor and a Potter. Then I realized, what would drive the Potter family crazy? What would make Harry Potter, and even better James Potter, furious?" Scorpius paused for dramatic effect. "Well if dear little Albus was dating a Slytherin, and not just any Slytherin, a Malfoy. So that is just what I plan to do."

"I don't get it." Wendy replied. Scorpius glared.

"What don't you get Wendy?" he asked.

"Are we friends with Albus then? Or are we still using him?"

"Well he's going to be my boyfriend, so I hope you would be friends with him."

"But aren't we still using him, I mean, in a way? Using him to piss off his family." Tess clarified.

"Well, yes, but that doesn't mean we cant be pleasant to him."

"Scorpius, are you sure about this?" Jaysen asked suddenly, looking nervous.

"Why?" Scorpius demanded

"I dunno, I mean, are you sure you don't just want to date Albus for real? I mean that would be okay too. There doesn't have to be some plot behind it."

Scorpius gave Jaysen a hard look, but it quickly turned into a humored smile. "Jaysen I don't exactly know what you think my type is, but I promise it isn't a Gryffindor, book-worm, virgin, with a bad haircut and a daddy complex."

The room went awkwardly silent, until Stephanie spoke. "And may I ask how you are so sure that Albus Potter will go out with you in the first place? He seems pretty wary of you."

Scorpius gave her a smile that she had seen many times before. I smile that was always followed by Scorpius getting his way. "That my dear, you can leave to me."

* * *

><p>When Monday morning rolled around Albus got out of bed as quickly as possible. He went into the bathroom, showered, dressed and brushed his teeth. As he was getting ready to leave Albus heard another boy enter the room. He immediately tensed and turned around to see who it was, then visibly relaxed when it was only Drew.<p>

"Morning Albus." Drew said with a soft smile.

"Morning." Albus responded, "I'm just leaving, going to head down to breakfast."

"Oh alright then. See you later."

Drew gave him another weak smile before walking into a stall. Albus grabbed his things and left the bathroom. He sat down on his bed to put on his shoes, then grabbed his books and headed out the door.

Once the door was closed behind him he breathed a sigh of relief. All weekend long he had to deal with awkward interactions with his roommates. Ian and Jeremy were openly hostile to him while Austin acted like he had some contagious disease. Drew was the only one who was polite to Albus, but even that seemed taxing for the meek boy.

Walking down to the Gryffindor common room Albus spotted his sister sitting with a few friends. When she saw Albus she waved him over.

"You're up early." Albus commented giving his sister a hug.

"I could say the same about you." She replied.

"Right." Albus said. Lily wasn't stupid, she knew that Albus had been avoiding his room as much as possible, and she knew why. "Lily, I appreciate you doing this but you don't have to get up early to have breakfast with me."

"I don't know what you're talking about Albus, I always get up this early." She replied proudly. Albus noticed a few of her friends roll their eyes. After their little talk on Saturday Lily had tried to be there for her brother as much as possible. Sitting next to him at every meal, and talking to him in the hallways. He appreciated what she was trying to do, but the whole thing was a little sad.

"Lily, I'm serious. I'll be fine." He said.

"No, Albus I'm serious! I want to do this. So shut up and let me." With that she turned around and walked out of the common room, leaving her brother and friends behind.

From the hallway they heard a loud yell, "Well are you coming or aren't you?"

Albus gave the girls a little grin. They grinned back and followed after Lily.

* * *

><p>"I mean, does he really expect me to go on some stupid family vacation over the holidays? I'd much rather hang out with my friends. Mom was so mad, but its not like they spend time with me anyways, they just go out to dinner and let me order room service at the hotel, its pathetic."<p>

Scorpius rolled his eyes. What did a boy have to do to enjoy a nice peaceful breakfast around here? Stephanie was blathering on again about how horrible her parents were. Really, she got to spend nine out of twelve months away from them, you would think a couple weeks in a high-class wizard's resort wouldn't kill her.

"Scorpius are you even listening to me?" Steph said a moment later. Scorpius turned to look at her.

"Darling I don't really have a choice. You're rather shrill."

Steph chose to shrug off the comment and instead replied with. "Anyways, I told them I had already been invited to stay with your family during the holidays."

"Funny I don't recall inviting you." Scorpius smirked.

"Well, I figured you wouldn't mind." Stephanie laughed. Scorpius shook his head, there were really no boundaries where he and Stephanie were concerned, she did whatever she wanted, and he let her.

"I was trying to convince my parents to leave me alone for the break anyways. Thought I could throw a few parties. They've been wanting to explore China, god don't ask me why, so we might have the house to ourselves." The blond explained.

"Did I hear you say house party?" Scorpius turned and saw Jaysen walk up with Andrew and Sullivan following closely behind.

"Settle down Jay," Stephanie teased, "Not for a few months."

As the boys sat down Stephanie began to share her parental woes yet again. Scorpius took the opportunity to tune her out, and instead glanced around the Great Hall. Too soon his eyes landed on a certain black haired Gryffindor and Scorpius found himself staring as the boy ate a piece of toast.

A minute later Scorpius felt someone gently elbow him in the ribs. He turned and looked to find it had been Andrew.

"You really shouldn't stare like that. Unless you really want to creep Albus out."

"I wasn't staring." Scorpius defended himself.

"Right." Andrew replied, letting the idea rest.

"He's still sitting with his sister." Stephanie joined in, "It's been three days, do you think he'll ever make up with Weasley?"

Scorpius shrugged, trying to seem as disinterested as possible, making up for the fact that he had been staring at the boy not a minute before. Luckily for Scorpius in that moment the post arrived. Hundreds of owls soared into the room, dropping letters and packages here and there, occasionally swooping down to pester their owners into sharing their breakfast.

Scorpius was surprised when his family's falcon dropped a letter in front of his plate. None of his friends had received anything so they all leaned in, curious as to what the letter would be about.

Scorpius sighed, recognizing his mother's small handwriting on the front and opened it up.

_Scorpius,_

_You've been gone hardly a month, but I already miss you horribly. We haven't gotten any letters from you! Oh, but don't worry, I remember how busy students are, you surely have no time to write, with all your studies. Don't worry about us, just reply if you can, and at least let us know that you're eating right and feeling well. I believe your father has some things to say, so I'll say goodbye for now dear. I love you!_

_ -Mummy_

The second part of the page was written in his father's handwriting, and Scorpius practically cringed just at the sight of it. This couldn't be good.

_Scorpius-_

_I've received a letter from the school, alerting me to the fact that you have been skipping classes regularly and that your marks are suffering heavily. I haven't told your mother, because it would break her heart, but you should know that this is extremely disappointing and this sort of behavior is unacceptable. If you do not turn this around soon I will be forced to enact severe consequences. I expected more from you. _

The bottom of the letter wasn't even signed. Scorpius scanned the letter once more then folded it up and shoved it in his pocket. Glancing at the large clock that hung on the wall he saw that classes would be starting soon.

Looking around he realized that his friends were watching him expectantly. Steph had a pitying look on her face, as if she could guess what the letter said, without having even read it.

"I think I'll go to class today." Scorpius offered. He began to walk away without another word. Andrew, who had class with the blond, shoved the last of a cinnamon roll in his mouth and followed his friend.

Suddenly, Scorpius turned around and looked back at his friends. "Sullivan. Remember that thing we were talking about?"

Sullivan nodded silently.

"Can you do it today?" He asked

Sullivan nodded again and replied, "Sure."

"Good. Everyone, we're meeting in the forest for lunch. Someone tell Tess and Wendy." Then, without another word, Scorpius turned and continued to walk away, Andrew trailing after him.

Once they had left the Great Hall Andrew stopped Scorpius.

"Are you okay man? Don't worry about your dad, I'm sure it wasn't that bad, besides our parents are all talk, we know that."

"I'm fine Andy." He replied. "It was just a shitty way to start out the week."

Andrew gave his friend a pat on the shoulder and a sympathetic smile.

As they kept walking Andrew asked, "What is the thing that Sullivan is going to do."

Scorpius shot him a playful smile. "You'll see."

Andrew sighed. He needed to find some new friends.

* * *

><p>The classroom which had previously been filled with the loud chatter of students grew uncomfortably quiet when Albus Potter entered the room. Albus had made his way from his potions class in the dungeons to his transfiguration class on the third floor, making him one of the last arriving students.<p>

Walking in and taking the first seat he could find, Albus tried his best to ignore the fact that everyone was staring at him. Reaching into his bag he took out his book and a piece of parchment praying that their teacher would call all the students to attention soon.

The boy sitting on Albus' right got up and moved to a seat in the back of the classroom, whispering something under his breath. Albus couldn't hear what it was, but something told him that he didn't want to know. This occurrence caused a whispering to break out all over the classroom and Albus could barely contain a groan.

Albus wasn't surprised by the behavior. He had sat alone and been ignored in his two previous classes of the day. However, the boy was confused why everyone seemed to care so much. Couldn't they all just leave him alone? Why did it even matter if he was gay or not?

Just then someone else entered the room. Albus looked up and recognized Sullivan Graves. Without hesitating Sullivan planted himself in the seat next to Albus, and smiled over at the Gryffindor.

"Morning Albus." He said pleasantly. Albus had spoken so little all day that it took him a second to say anything.

"Hello Sullivan." He replied hesitantly. Glancing behind him Albus noted that there were other empty seats in the classroom, Sullivan didn't have to sit down in the front.

"I was hoping maybe I could talk to you after class." He heard Sullivan say. Albus wasn't looking at the Slytherin, and simply assumed he had been talking to someone else. Then he heard his name "Albus?"

"Were… you talking to me?" Albus asked hesitantly.

"Yes did you here me? I was hoping to talk to you after class" Sullivan repeated. Albus was too surprised to say anything. He simply nodded in the direction of the other boy. Sullivan returned the nod with a large smile, and then looked up to the front of the room, where their teacher was attempting to start class.

Albus' mind was racing. This was about Scorpius right? It had to be, there was no other reason that Sullivan would have to talk to him.

Albus hadn't talked the Scorpius since their exchange in the Owlry a few days prior. Why was Scorpius sending Sullivan to talk to him? Albus' heart fell when his mind could only settle on one obvious conclusion. Scorpius had changed his mind. Scorpius had decided that he didn't like Albus after all, and didn't care enough to even say it in person. Instead the Slytherin sent one of his friends to break the news to poor Albus.

Albus sighed heavily; and realized he had no idea what his teacher had been talking about for the past few minutes. Trying to shake his head of the thoughts, Albus got out a quill and started scrawling notes. After all, he decided, there was no point in worrying about something that was already over.

* * *

><p>"You what?" Albus found himself asking almost an hour later.<p>

Sullivan had packed up his things very slowly at the end of class and once all the other students had left the room he had approached Albus, with some very surprising news.

"I asked you to come have lunch with us in the woods again." Sullivan repeated.

Albus had no idea what to say, and so he just stood there, with his mouth slightly open, trying to process what was happening.

"Lunch is now." Was Albus' response almost a minute later.

Sullivan rolled his eyes, grabbed Albus' bag and started towards the door.

"I'm afraid I cant really take no for an answer mate, Scorpius wouldn't be pleased, so come on, let's go."

At the mention of Scorpius Albus found his feet moving towards the door, following Sullivan. Once Albus caught up the boy he was handed back his bag and they walked down to the grounds together in almost complete silence. Sullivan hummed a tune quietly to himself. Neither boy seemed to be too inclined to conversation.

It was only once they started crossing the grounds that Albus heard someone call his voice, but it wasn't Sullivan. Glancing around Albus spotted Professor Longbottom walking towards him from the direction of the greenhouses.

"Albus, I'm so glad I caught you. I was just about to look for you in the castle. Do you have a minute?"

Albus looked up at Sullivan, who had also stopped.

"I'll go on ahead," The boy said, "You remember the way?"

Albus nodded. "Yes." He replied quietly.

"See ya then." Sullivan nodded and then kept walking in the direction of the forest.

Albus glanced back at his professor, afraid that the man might comment on his choice of company or their obvious destination of the Forbidden Forest, but he seemed to be too excited about something else.

"I meant to find you this morning Albus, but I left the bloody letter in my office. I'm so glad I found you." Longbottom repeated. He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Albus.

"I received this letter last night from Saudi Arabia. The curse-breakers working there said they would be delighted to have you join them this summer. They would even be willing to pay you and give you certified claim to anything you might discover! And of course, you would be getting daily technical lesson and hands on training. They are currently deciding on transportation and lodging for you, while you are there. All the information is right there." Longbottom tapped the letter in Albus hand. "You can read it all for yourself, but I just couldn't wait to tell you!"

"So it's really happening!" Albus said, gripping the letter tight. "I'm actually going to go?" He still had a hard time believing it.

"Without a doubt!" His professor grinned. "You're parents are on board, and all that's left now are a few insignificant details."

Albus couldn't hold himself back he leapt forward and gave Professor Longbottom a huge hug.

"Oh thank you professor," He said grinning widely. "I can't wait."

Neville grinned back at the son of one of his best friends. "I couldn't be more proud of you Albus."

They let go of the hug and Albus received a kind pat on the shoulder.  
>"Well, I have to go, but please come by my office anytime if you have any questions, or just want to talk."<p>

"Bye professor." Albus waved as his teacher walked off. Glancing down at the letter stilled clutched in his palm, Albus gave another large smile. Then he shouldered his book bag and turned to walk into the forest.

* * *

><p>"What the bloody hell do you think your doing?" Was Sullivan's greeting when he arrived at the Slytherin's secret spot.<p>

"Afternoon friends." He replied, sitting down on the closet couch.

Scorpius, who was the one who had originally greeted him continued. "I said, what are you doing? You were supposed to bring Albus." The blond said angrily.

"He's right behind me, had to stop to talk to Longbottom." Sullivan replied dismissively. It was then that he noticed the pipe Malfoy was holding.

"Have you all been smoking." Sullivan glanced around at everyone.

"Do we look high to you?" Tess asked sarcastically. "We were just about to start. We were waiting for you, what took you so long?"

"Albus was… hesitant about coming at first." Sullivan sighed, "But he'll be here."

"He better be," Scorpius threated, but there was no real malice behind it. Reaching into his pocket, Scorpius held out a little sack and emptied some of the contents into the pipe he was holding in his other hand.

"Someone give me a light."

Jaysen, who was sitting next to Scorpius, held out his wand and murmured a quiet _incendio_. Holding the pipe up to the flame, Scorpius took a deep breath and then slowly let the smoke out of his lungs.

The smoke danced in the air, creating intricate shapes. First a bird, then the shape of a quidditch player, finally a dragon. Scorpius took a few more puffs before passing the pipe around the circle.

Scorpius leaned back in the chair he was sitting in and let the effects of the drug take control. Already his head was starting to feel light, and his mood was lifting. Scorpius felt almost as if he was floating, the worries and cares of his day slowly being pulled off of his shoulders.

The letter from his parents, the condescending looks from his teachers, none of it mattered now. He watched the pipe come back around the circle and reached out for it when it was his turn. The magic weed was still burning bright in the bowl and so he took another long drag before letting the smoke out, this time watching as it turned into a train that resembled the Hogwarts Express.

Just then the hedge shivered and began to move. A moment later Albus Potter stepped forward into the clearing, and the shrubs closed behind him.

"Albus!" Wendy squealed. She jumped up and wrapped the Gryffindor in a large hug.

"Hello." Albus responded shakily. Wendy took his hand and led him to her couch, sitting him right beside her. The pipe was passed to her and she offered it to Albus.

"You want some?" Wendy asked.

"What is it?" Albus glanced in the pipe and saw the burning leaves. The whole clearing reeked of whatever it was.

"Wizard's weed." Andrew responded. "Don't tell me you've never heard of the stuff."

Albus meekly shook his head.

"Oh Albus, it's great." Wendy explained, "It's sort of like a muggle drug, only it's altered with magic. You feel high so quickly and your magic can even get stronger. If you smoke enough, sometimes it feels like little firecrackers are going off under your skin." She smiled and took a hit off of the pipe.

"Try some." She held the pipe out to Albus again.

Albus took it in his hand, glancing down at the burning leaves once more. Just the smell of the smoke was making him a little dizzy. He handed the pipe off to Stephanie on his left.

"I'm okay." He said shyly.

"Suit yourself." Steph said, before inhaling the smoke deeply. She let it out contentedly with a loud sigh and passed it off.

Scorpius watched this whole interaction in silence. He saw Albus glance at him a few times, but he was feeling to good to move, or even talk.

"So Albus," Sullivan asked a moment later, "What did Longbottom want."

"Oh, he gave me this." Albus pulled the letter out of his robe's pocket. Scorpius watched the boy and noticed the small smile that appeared on his face.

"What is it?" Andrew asked.

"A letter. It's about me working in Saudi Arabia this summer. I'm going to go there and train to be a curse breaker. They're even going to pay me." Albus was trying to keep his voice calm, but everyone could tell how excited he was.

"Wow, Albus you must be so smart." Wendy said.

"That's cool!" Tess agreed.

Scorpius watched as Albus glowed with pride. He felt a twinge of annoyance in the back of his mind.

"Geez, I cant believe you have all of that figured out. I mean, I have no fucking clue what to do with my life." Jaysen whined.

"That's such a cool trip too." Stephanie added, "You're going to have so much fun."

Scorpius felt another twinge of annoyance rise up. Why was everyone paying so much attention to Albus?

"Congrats man, I'm seriously jealous. I wish I could go to Saudi Arabia. How long are you staying?" Andrew asked. Albus was about the answer the question, when Scorpius jumped it.

"S'not that cool." He said rolling his eyes. "Isn't Saudi Arabia like, a fucking desert?"

Scorpius watched as Albus' smile faded and his eyes grew wide.

"Who would want to spend their summer digging up dirt anyways, sounds awful." Scorpius continued. Albus frowned slightly and looked down at his shoes. Scorpius felt a large amount of satisfaction, and a tiny bit of guilt.

He looked around to the rest of the circle. Everyone was watching his with different levels of astonishment. Except for Steph, she looked angry.

"What's your problem Scorpius?" She asked.

"Nothing." He replied. "All I'm saying is that little Al here has spent 6 years working his butt off. He's going to spend all summer working his butt off, and in the end his job is going to be playing in the dirt. Sounds pretty lame to me."

Steph continued to glare at Scorpius. "Don't listen to him Albus. He's just jealous because he has absolutely no idea what to do with his future."

"Yeah right!" Scorpius shot back angrily, "Don't I? I've spent 6 years partying and having the time of my life. I'm going to spend all summer partying and having the time of my life, and when I'm done at Hogwarts I have a nice little spot waiting for me in the Malfoy family business." Scorpius grinned, "Nothing quite better than that."

"Yeah, nothing better then being given everything in life." Everyone turned in bewilderment, when they heard the words come out of Albus' mouth.

Scorpius eyes widened. "What was that?"

Albus looked up and met Scorpius' eyes. "Your plan. You don't have to work for any of it. Are you just going to rely on mum and dad to give you everything then?" The clearing was absolutely silent for a moment.

"FUCK YOU POTTER!" Scorpius yelled, "At least I have fucking friends. You're a fucking nobody, and the only thing you have to look forward to is your pathetic little summer trip to the middle of fucking nowhere."

"Shut up!" Albus shot back, standing up. "You know what Scorpius, I may be a loser, and I may not have any friends, but at least I have dreams and can stand on my own two feet. At least I don't sit in the forest during class getting high because I'm too afraid to actually work for something." Albus grabbed his bag, put the letter back in his pocket, and walked to the edge of the clearing.

Scorpius was fuming. How dare Albus fucking Potter talk to him like that! He was about to yell more at the boy, but the hedge opened the Potter stepped through. As the bushes were closing behind him Scorpius could hear the Gryffindor yell out.

"And my trip is NOT PATHETIC!"

As soon as Albus disappeared Scorpius sat back down, visibly shaken by the encounter. He tried to think straight but his mind was too cloudy, the only thing he could feel was anger.

"What the hell was that?" Steph yelled, "Scorpius what is your fucking problem?"

"Why the hell were you all being so nice to him? Why the hell did you take his side?" Scorpius almost screamed at his friends.

Stephanie paled after she heard his voice. They all sat in silence for a moment. Scorpius couldn't believe it, his friends actually looked scared of him.

"Scor," Jaysen said slowly a moment later, "You told us to."

"You said you were gonna date him." Andrew added gently.

Scorpius glanced around the circle again. Everyone looked confused, or concerned. He felt pathetic. He could feel his anger slowly ebbing away, but replacing it were huge waves of sadness.

"Just go." He said.

"What? Are you serious?" Steph asked in frustration.

"Do I look like I'm fucking joking Steph?" Scorpius yelled to her, "Leave me the fuck alone!"

"Fine!" She yelled back. "But I hope you use this time to fucking get over yourself."

His friends quickly packed up their things and left him alone. Once the clearing was silent again Scorpius felt yet another wave of depression hit him. He thought about smoking more, to make the feeling go away, but he was already too high, and he knew it wasn't a good idea.

Leaning back in his chair he closed his eyes and covered them with his hands. He sighed deeply and whispered one word.

"Fuck."

* * *

><p>Albus walked briskly away from the concealed clearing, still fuming from his interaction. He had spent all day taking shit from people. He had to deal with his homophobic roommates, and his backstabbing cousin and his gossipmonger classmates. The one shining light was Saudi Arabia.<p>

He just couldn't bear it when Scorpius started making fun of him. Sure, he had blown up and gotten way too angry, but he wasn't about to let Scorpius drag him down anymore. He'd had enough of that. At some point he had to stand up to himself.

He also wasn't going to let this end like last time, with him running away crying. No, this time he was walking out of the forest with his head held high.

"Albus." He heard a yell from behind him.

Turning, Albus almost reached for his wand, worried they had come to curse him for what he had said. However the faces he saw didn't look angry with him. He watched as Stephanie, Andrew, Tess, Jaysen, Sullivan and Wendy all filed out of the forest after him. There was no Scorpius.

"He kicked us out." Stephanie explained as they came closer. She raised her eyebrows and shrugged, as if to say it wasn't a big deal.

"Sorry Albus." Sullivan said a moment later, "I promised I wasn't expecting that when I brought you here."

"That's alright," Albus said sheepishly, "I went a little overboard too I think."

"Are you kidding?" Tess laughed, "That was hilarious, I don't think I've ever seen someone outside our group stand up to Scor like that."

Stephanie leaned over and put her arm around Albus, "I really hope you don't worry about what he said. Scorpius can be… well an asshole sometimes. You just need to let him cool off." She offered a wink and Albus gave her a soft smile.

"Well," Andrew sighed, "I supposed we might as well go to class then." A few of the group groaned loudly.

"I cant go to class," Jaysen protested in a loud whine, "I'M TOO HIIIIIIGH" He stretched the last syllable so ridiculously long that no one could help but laugh. Before he even knew it Albus had joined in. And with Stephanie's arm still around his shoulder they all started back towards the castle.


	11. Chapter 11

Really long A/N (you should probably skip ahead): First off. Everyone congratulate me, I survived high school! Now, the more common term is "graduate" but I think survived is more appropriate in my case ;) Because it was the beginning of the summer I made it my responsibility to do as little as humanly possible, hence why this chapter is just now getting posted, but don't worry it's a good one. Secondly, all you reviewers are freakin' awesome! Seriously, you make me laugh and tear up. You guys rock, so thanks! Lastly HAPPY 4th, to all my American readers that is. Go eat some pie and shoot off some fireworks. Alright that's it!

* * *

><p>Albus awoke to the loud sounds of the other members of his dorm shuffling around and getting dressed.<p>

"Shit." He whispered under his breath. This wasn't the first time he hadn't woken up early in the past few weeks. Homework had piled on as the year progressed and Albus had been forced to go to bed later and later, which made waking up before anyone else almost impossible. Some mornings he would just lay in bed until everyone was gone and skip breakfast, making it just in time for his first class. Other mornings he would just face the boys in his dorm, and let's just say those mornings weren't very pretty.

Hearing his stomach rumble from underneath the covers Albus knew this wasn't the morning to skip a meal. With a long sigh he slowly shifted in his bed, moving the covers and carefully sitting up. Looking around all he saw were harsh glares. Getting out of bed Albus walked to the end of his bed and grabbed his uniform. Careful to keep his eyes glued to the wall, Albus started the undress.

"Look guys, the exhibitionist wants to give us a show." Ian yelled from behind him. Albus blocked the comment and finished getting dressed as fast as he could.

"Too bad Albus, you're the only one who wants to see naked boys, we're not interested." Jeremy called next, laughing.

"Put it away homo, no one wants to see that shit." Austin said, sounding almost angry.

Albus closed his eyes and thought of things that made him happy. He thought of family quidditch matches where his uncles got way too competitive, his grandma's cooking and he thought of Saudi Arabia. By the time he finished dressing he could barely hear the insults being thrown his way.

Grabbing his bag and an essay he had written the night before Albus tried to walk out of the dorm. However, Ian was standing in the front of the door, clearly not about to let him through.

"Come on Ian. Don't you want a homo like me out of your room?" Albus asked sarcastically.

"As a matter of fact we do Albus, but it looks like someone needs to learn a lesson first." Albus turned to see Jeremy coming up behind him.

Albus faced Jeremy and put his hands on his hips. "A lesson? What the fuck does that mean?"

A moment later Albus found out. He felt his hands being grabbed and pulled behind his back. Then Ian grabbed his by his hair and slammed his head against the nearest wall. Albus collapsed to the ground as pain bloomed in his front temple. Clutching the spot where he felt the pain the worst, Albus was shocked when it felt wet and sticky. He pulled his hand and saw that it was covered in blood.

"Shit!" He heard Jeremy say. Apparently everyone was surprised by the amount of blood currently gushing from Albus' head. Ian even backed away from him.

"What the hell Ian!" Austin chimed in, "Are you trying to kill him?"

"You SAID to smash his face into the wall. That's what I did!" Ian shot back.

"Would you all shut up!" Albus yelled. He was beginning to feel light headed but not enough to block out his massive headache.

Jeremy walked over to Albus and pulled him to his feet. Albus tried to struggle but found that Jeremy was a lot stronger than him. "Listen here you little shit!" Jeremy practically spat, "You are gonna go down to the Hospital Wing and tell Madame Midgen that you fell on a wonky stair and busted your head. Got that?"

Albus was about to respond when Drew walked in from the bathroom, hair still wet from a shower.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" He shouted.

"Shove it Drew." Ian said glaring, trying to intimidate the younger boy.

"Fuck off Ian!" Drew walked over to Albus and grabbed him from Jeremy's grasp.

"You're all psychopaths! You were about to make a person with a serious head wound walk himself down about 7 flights of stairs while losing large amounts of blood. Are you mental? Wait, don't answer. You are mental, all of you." Drew grabbed Albus' bag from where it was laying on the floor.

"Come on Albus." He said grabbing his roommate by the arm and helping him towards the door. As they walked out Drew stopped and looked back. "I swear to Merlin if you guys even think about doing something this fucked up ever again I will make it my personal mission to get you all expelled. That is of course if this little incident doesn't do it already." With that he walked out and slammed the door behind them.

* * *

><p>"Alright, come here." Drew said, his voice much softer and calmer than a moment earlier. He pulled out his wand and murmured a quick spell. Albus felt the cut in his head close up. He used his sleeve to wipe up the blood that was already on his face, and then checked to see that no more was pouring out.<p>

"Thanks." He said, nodding at Drew.

"No problem. I just closed it up, but you're probably going to want Madame Midgen to do it better, that way you wont have a scar." Drew explained, "Of course if you want to seem more tough, maybe you should keep it." He laughed.

"Yeah, but maybe a jagged scar on my forehead isn't the best idea." Albus grinned.

Drew looked at him for a second, confused. After a moment he understood, "Right." He said embarrassed. "Course."

Albus laughed again as they walked down into the common room. There were a few fourth years sitting in the couches. They saw Albus ands just gaped. He must look awful, Albus realized, with dried blood on his face and all over his clothes. Albus and Drew continued walking, out of the doorway and into the hall. The silence between them became uneasy and Albus decided to ask the question that Drew obviously didn't want to answer.

"So, why did you defend me back there?" Albus asked. His question was met by silence. They kept walked and almost a minute later the answer came.

"You were getting beat up. Any decent bloke would have helped you out." Drew mumbled.

"Yeah, but I've never seen you get that angry before." Albus continued, "And I've definitely never seen anyone threaten Jeremy like that. Pretty bad-ass." Albus grinned.

"It just didn't seem fair." Drew said. Albus said nothing so the boy continued. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with who you are. No one should be afraid to live their lives the way they want, especially if they aren't hurting anyone."

Albus sensed that Drew had more to say so he stayed quiet.

"Last Christmas my sister came home, with her new girlfriend. None of us had known before, you know that she liked girls. My parents were really shocked, and so was I. It took them a long time to accept it. We all treated her differently for a little bit, and I could tell it really hurt her. I hurt her, my sister, who I love more than anyone. I rejected her and made her feel like she shouldn't love who she loves. I've always regretted that. We're fine now, but I know she still remembers it, she always will."

Drew stopped and took a breath; it was obvious he had wanted to get that off of his chest for a while.

"When I saw the way the other boys were treating you I realized it was the exact same thing. I was letting it happen all over again. I was letting them tease you and mock you and I never stopped it. So this morning, when they were beating you up I thought, "what if someone had done that to my sister" and I just snapped. I'm sorry it took me so long to do the right thing." Drew looked at Albus for a moment. "I'm not sure if anyone has told you this yet but, there's nothing wrong with who you decide to love."

Albus put a hand on Drew's shoulder. "Thanks mate." He grinned, "Don't worry about waiting to become my knight in shining armor, better late then never." Albus winked and Drew blushed and turned away.

"Let's just get you to the infirmary. You look like crap." Drew kept walking, and Albus followed after him.

"I'm not going to tell her you know." Albus said a moment later.

"Huh?"

"I'm not going to tell Madame Midgen about what happen. I'm going to say that I fell. And so are you."

Drew turned and glared. "Are you crazy?" He almost yelled, "Why in the hell would I do that? You want these guys to get away with it?"

"Listen," Albus responded carefully, "If I tell the professors what really happened, they are going to want to know why. Jeremy will tell them, and whether or whether not they all get expelled the professors are going to tell my parents about it."

"Oh."

"Right. I just want a little while longer before they find out. I don't know, just to get more comfortable with the whole thing myself."

"Do you think they will be mad?" Drew asked quietly.

"Naw, they will probably be surprised though. I already told both my siblings, and Rose too. They all seemed okay with it."

"Rose was?" Drew asked, seeming shocked. "Then why are you guys not speaking? I thought it was because Jeremy and her hated you for being gay."

Albus laughed, "No, I'm just furious because she told Jeremy when she promised to keep it a secret. It's pretty much her fault that the whole school knows."

"Wow, that sucks." Drew said.

"Yeah, well, I'm a pushover. I'll probably forgive her eventually." Albus sighed.

"Even though she's dating a psychopath who just tried to give you brain damage?"

Albus stopped. "Hmm, good point."

"Speak of the devil." Drew mumbled under his breath. They had reached the main entrance, and students were slowly filing out from breakfast. Albus looked and saw that his cousin was indeed in front of him. She was staring at him with large eyes and her mouth was wide open in shock.

"Albus!" She almost shrieked. "What happened?" She ran over and examined his head.

"Oh hello Rose. You know what, I cant exactly remember. Must be the blood loss. Better get to the hospital wing before I pass out." With that he turned away and continued walking, leaving a very upset Rose behind him.

Just then a huge group of student exited the Great Hall. Albus and Drew were forced to walk right past them to get to the Hospital Wing. Albus saw everyone staring and heard a bunch of whispers. Among the group Albus spotted a certain blond. They made eye contact and Albus saw that Scorpius Malfoy looked just as shocked as the rest of his peers. He might have even looked a little concerned. Albus broke their eye contact and kept walking.

Since their encounter in the woods a few weeks back Scorpius had ignored him and Albus had followed suit. Sure, he might still have a thing for the Slytherin, but he wasn't going to be treated like that by anyone.

Well… Albus figured that wasn't entirely true because he had just been treated a lot worse by his roommates. Alright, he wasn't going to voluntarily be treated like that. Yes, that was better. Malfoy could feel free to run up and insult him, but Albus wasn't going to put him in a position to be insulted by the Slytherin.

"Albus?" Drew asked. Albus was pulled from his thoughts. He looked over at his roommate.

"Yeah?"

"We're here." Drew pointed to the doors of the Hospital Wing.

"Right." Albus moved to open the doors.

"Albus. Are you sure you don't want to tell what those idiots did?" Drew asked impatiently.

"No I really don't." Albus said quietly.

"Fine. Well, I'll just have you know, that if anything like this happens again, I wont give you the option. I'll tell the headmaster myself. Nothing is worth you getting beat up over."

Albus turned back to his friend. "I wouldn't expect anything less." He grinned.

Drew looked uneasy again, "Want me to go get you some food?"

"No, I'll be fine. Midgen will have me stitched up in a few minutes anyways."

"Alright then I'll save you a seat." Drew responded, turning away.

"Hey Drew." Albus called a few moments later.

Drew turned back, "Yeah?"

"You're sister will forgive you. Time heals everything, and I'm sure she knows how much you love her."

"You think?"

"Yep."

Drew save a small smile. "Thanks Albus." And then he turned and walked away.

* * *

><p>Scorpius was sitting in his transfiguration class but he couldn't concentrate on anything. His professor was in the front blathering on, and all the other students were taking notes, but all Scorpius could do was sit and picture Albus' bloody and bruised face.<p>

There were lots of rumors about what had happened but Scorpius couldn't quite believe any of them. Pecked by hungry owls seemed unlikely and beat up by gay-haters was also doubtful. Scorpius had played for both teams in the past and it had never really been a secret, but he had never faced any sort of hatred.

The last rumor, that apparently Albus himself was endorsing, that he had fallen on a trick stair, was almost laughable. First years fell through stairs and hardly got a scratch. A sixth year forgetting a missing stair wasn't unheard of but it sure seemed unlikely in Albus' case. Especially since some Gryffindors claimed to see him leaving his dorm in the same bloodied state he came downstairs in.

Scorpius heard a bell sound, signaling the end of his first class. Looking back at Steph, who sat behind him he noticed her large smirk.

"What's so amusing?" Scorpius asked.

"You are. As usual." She said packing up her things and walking over to her friend's desk.

"Oh really?" Scorpius rolled his eyes, curious to know what strange things she was going to spout.

"Take many notes today?" She asked, gesturing to the blank parchment in front of him.

"I was a little distracted." Scorpius said dismissively.

Steph gave a little giggled, and Scorpius glared, "What?" he asked.

"I wonder what could possibly have distracted you?" She said, tapping her chin, as if thinking.

Scorpius glared. How did she do that? She always knew exactly what he was thinking, it creeped him out. When he told her that Steph just laughed.

"You're no where near as mysterious as you think." She replied. "Ever since two weeks ago in the woods you've been obsessing about Albus. You're always distant and you stare at him at meals."

"I do not stare!" Scorpius defended himself.

"You should have seen your face when he walked into the entrance hall today. I thought you were gonna stampede up to him and whisk him to the infirmary." Steph giggled again.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Right." He deadpanned.

"Don't lie, you were worried about him."

"Not worried. I was curious, there's a difference. I was curious as to how one boy could possibly get into so much trouble. Everyone thinks he is so smart, but he must be some sort of idiot to get hurt over and over."

"If I recall, you were the one hurting him not too long ago." Steph retorted.

"Shove off." Scorpius got up from his seat and walked out of the classroom. He heard Steph follow behind him.

Now that they were in the hall Steph spoke quickly and quietly.

"Just admit that you feel bad about the way that you treated him already."  
>"I don't know how many times I have to tell you, and Wendy and Andy and Jaysen AND Tess. I don't care about Albus. I swear Sullivan is the only one who believes me."<p>

"He doesn't believe you, he just doesn't like to argue with liars."

"I'm not lying!" Scorpius said, raising his voice loud enough to turn a few heads in the hall.

"Yes you are." Steph continued. "You just don't know that you're lying. You're lying to yourself, and you've convinced yourself that you don't care, but it's not true."

"That's doesn't even make sense." Scorpius sighed.

"Its because you're a boy." Steph said. "Girls are much more in touch with their emotions." She flipped her hair and gave him a large grin.

"Girls are a nuisance." He replied, walking ahead.

Steph hurried to catch up again. "If you want to stop driving yourself crazy, just go talk to Albus and apol-"

"Stop!" Scorpius interrupted. "Don't you dare say the A-word."

Steph rolled her eyes, "Oh grow up."

"Scorpius Malfoy does not apologize to anyone. Ever."

Steph laughed again, "Right. Except his mummy when he's late to dinner." She teased.

"Why am I friends with you?" Scorpius asked himself.

Steph laughed, "You need me. I tell you when you're being a wanker. Like now. Just go and A-word to Albus Potter. It'll make you feel better, I promise." With that Steph ran off to her charms class, while Scorpius continued downstairs to Potions.

She was right of course. Stephanie was always right.

Scorpius sighed. Looks like he was going to A-word to Albus Potter.

Damn.

* * *

><p>Albus left the Hospital Wing not ten minutes after he had entered it feeling a million times better. After giving his 'I fell down the stairs' story Madame Midgen had given him a skeptical look, but then fixed him up all the same. A couple charms on his head to reduce swelling and heal the cut. A couple potions to reduce his headache and raise his blood pressure. Finally she had done the 'follow my finger with your eyes" test to make sure there was no brain damage (Apparently that was something muggles did as well). Then he was done. She had told him to come back if his head continued to hurt and to be more careful next time.<p>

Albus felt his stomach grumble and he was happy to know that breakfast was awaiting him. Rounding the corner into the main entrance Albus stopped dead when he saw Rosie waiting for him. She had her arms crossed and was glaring at him angrily.

"What?" Albus said defensively.

If possible she gave an even meaner look. "You know exactly well what." She replied.

"Actually I don't." He snapped. "I have no idea why you, the person I trusted with my greatest secret that you then told to your homophobic boyfriend, would be mad at ME."

"I know you're mad Albus. You've made that obvious, but don't you think that you could at least have the decency to talk to me when you come downstairs covered in blood! I was really worried about you, and you didn't even tell me what happened! Even after what happened I thought we were still friends." Rosie looked at him with big, sad eyes.

She was trying to play the victim, Albus realized, after all that had happened, she thought he should feel bad!

"I didn't tell you what happened Rose, because if I had you wouldn't have believed me anyways. And I'm sorry if I'm not very sensitive of your feelings, but I'm still putting up with the consequences of your stupid actions, so spare me if I have no shred of pity for your situation." Only after he had finished talking did Albus realize his voice had grown to almost a shout.

Rosie had gone quiet and was staring at him with a strange look. "What are you talking about Albus?" She said quietly.

"You're smart. Figure it out." Albus replied. He started to walk away but Rosie reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Are- are you saying that… was it Jeremy?" She asked, looking horrified.

"Well the blood was mostly Ian's work." Albus mumbled.

Rosie let go of Albus' arm. "I can't believe it." She looked back up at her cousin. "This whole time, you weren't exaggerating, he really is horrible to you."

"Yeah." Was all Albus could think to say.

They were quiet for a minute.

"Rosie?" Albus asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm going to break up with him." She said a moment later.

"What?" Albus asked, shocked.

"Are you really that surprised?" Rosie looked at him, almost angry. "You think I'm the type of person who would date a boy who beat up my cousin for being gay?"

"But- but, you love him don't you?" Albus asked, still incredulous.

"But I love you too. Albus, you're my best friend, and no one treats you like this and gets away with it. Especially not Jeremy."

Just then Albus noticed Drew walking towards them.

"Hey, you guys alright?" He asked hesitantly.

"Oh, yeah. Were fine." Albus lied.

Drew shrugged, "Well, you're looking a lot better Albus. Here, the food was all disappearing but I grabbed you some sausage and a muffin." He handed Albus a little bundle wrapped in a napkin.

"Thanks Drew. I'm starving." Albus smiled.

"Right, well I gotta go, class it starting soon." With a wave Drew walked up the stairs and out of sight.

"We better go too Rose, or we will be alt for Herbology." Albus said, biting into a sausage.

"Want to be my partner?" Rosie asked nervously.

Albus couldn't help but grin. He had told Drew earlier, and it was true, he was a pushover where Rosie was involved.

"Yeah I do." She smiled back at him and they walked out of the castle, side by side.

Needless to say when Albus walked into the Greenhouse not only slightly late, but also with a blood stained shirt, Professor Longbottom was a more than a little concerned. He looked at Albus for a moment and then just said "After class."

Albus nodded and took his seat next to Rosie.

An hour later, when class was dismissed Rosie promptly got up and gathered her things.

"I'm going to find Jeremy." She stated. Albus gave her a serious nod, and she walked off. Albus sighed. She might actually do it. She seemed determined enough.

Albus sensed Professor Longbottom eyeing him, so he got up and walked over to his teacher, ready to explain his dramatic fall earlier that morning.

Almost ten minutes later Albus was finally let free of the Greenhouses. He had a free period, and thought he might go back to his dorm and take a rest. His head was feeling better, but he was still pretty tired.

"Finally. I thought you were never coming out."

Albus stopped walking and turned to make sure his ears weren't deceiving him. Because it sounded like Scorpius Malfoy.

But it couldn't be.

But it was.

Scorpius Malfoy was leaning on a nearby tree, looking mysterious and gorgeous as always. And apparently waiting for Albus.

"Actually" he said, walking slowly over to Albus, "I thought maybe you knew I was out here and you were hiding from me."

"This has got to be the weirdest day of my life." Albus said with a sigh. Seriously, first Drew saved him and then Rosie choose him over Jeremy, and now Scorpius?

"Yeah?" Scorpius smirked, "Well falling down stairs and getting a serious head wound is pretty unheard of."

"One of my roommates smashed my head against a wall." Albus said matter-of-factly. "He hates me because I'm gay."

Scorpius eyes widened. "Are you joking?" He asked.

"Does it look like I'm joking?" Albus raised an eyebrow at the blond.

Scorpius just stared for a moment. "Want me to kick his ass?" Scorpius asked.

The question was so unexpected that Albus couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm serious. Which one is he? I'll curse him, or make Andy break his leg."

"Why would you do that?" Albus asked, curious.

"Well… because, he smashed your head into a wall." Scorpius said, clearly confused.

"Yeah. And you torn down all of my dreams and ambitions." Albus shrugged.

"They're not the same!" Scorpius said defensively.

Albus shrugged again. "All I know is that after 10 minutes in the Hospital Wing my head feels fine, but what you said still hurts."

Scorpius seemed to pale a little. "I wanted to talk to you about that actually."

Now it was Albus' turn to be startled. He stared at Scorpius, wondering what the blond was going to say.

"I'm…" Scorpius took a deep breath, "I'm really sorry I talked to you like that. I was angry about my own problems and I took them out on you. None of it was true. I… I'm sorry."

Silence met Scorpius' words. He looked back at Albus after a moment or two. "Well! Say something!" He demanded.

"Did- did you just apologize to me?" Albus smiled.

"S'not a big deal." Scorpius grumbled, looking away from the Gryffidor.

Albus laughed again.

"Well I forgive you." He said.

"Really?" Scorpius seemed surprised.

"Of course." Albus smiled. "A sincere apology is good enough for me."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "You're kind of a dork Albus."

Albus thought about it and nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

He started laughing and noticed Scorpius smile.

"Well, I'm going to head back into the castle." Albus said, pointing back towards the massive building.

Scorpius nodded and motioned towards the forbidden forest. "I'm taking a free period."

"Right, well I'll see you later then." Albus started to walk away.

"Hey Albus." Scorpius called. Albus turned. "That ass kicking offer still stands."

Albus smiled, "I'll keep that in mind."

Then he walked back into the castle trying very hard to stop thinking about the things that Scorpius Malfoy could do to an ass.


	12. Chapter 12

Hello there, if I still have any readers left. I know 3 months seems like a long time to wait for an update, but moving across the country and starting college is a real time-taker-upper. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>It took Albus a while to find his way back to the dorm after his encounter with Scorpius. He wasn't exactly focused on where he was going, but he found his way back to the fat lady eventually.<p>

"Well if it isn't Albus Potter, the talk of the town." The portrait said with a smirk. "You better get in there before you miss all the excitement." Albus just looked at her in confusion. "Well, come on! The password," she prompted, "Spit it out."

"Uh, wormschuckles…" Albus said after a moment. The picture swung open and Albus walked through to the common room. Before he even entered he could hear loud angry voices. Well, one loud angry voice, and if he wasn't mistaken it sounded exactly like his brother James.

"The hell do you think you're talking too?" James screamed out. Albus peaked his head in the doorway and almost immediately pulled it back with a gasp. James was holding up Jeremy by the collar of his robes and shaking him in the middle of the Gryffindor common room.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jeremy said. Albus had to admit that he sounded quite calm.

"You're really going to lie to my face? You little shit!" James roared again. "Let's connect the dots shall we? You torment my little brother for weeks before this, make his life a living hell. Then this morning he comes down to breakfast looking like he fought a hippogriff. Then this afternoon Rosie just out of the blue dumps you and slaps you in face. You're going to try and tell me that you don't fucking know what I'm talking about?"

"I didn't touch your brother." Jeremy yelled back, finally sounding a little scared of James.

"Course you didn't" James' disgust was clear in his tone. "You'd let someone else do your dirty work. Probably Ian, that idiot doesn't have enough brains to fill a teaspoon. I don't really give a fuck who hit him, because the root of the problem is you. Running around the castle telling lies about my brother just because you're a vindictive little shit. Let me tell you something. If I have to have this conversation with you again you're going to seriously regret it."

Albus almost couldn't believe the venom in his brother's voice. He peaked into the room again and saw that Jeremy was back on the ground, but his back was pushed up against a wall and James was holding him there.

"You're bluffing." Jeremy spat out. "You're head boy, you cant do anything to me."

"I'm your captain, and I'll kick you off the quidditch team so fast it'll make a tail wind. After that I'll give you detention in the dungeons until summer. I'll make your life a living hell in as many ways as humanly possible." Albus looked again, knowing he couldn't miss the look on Jeremy's face. And he was right. The boy looked terror-stricken and was even shaking slightly.

"Fine." Jeremy replied quietly a moment later. "What do I have to do?"

"For starters, you can apologize to my brother."

Albus grinned. Stepping out into the room he smiled as Jeremy noticed him. "Why don't we take care of that right now?" Albus asked.

James turned and looked surprised to see his brother. He pushed Jeremy forward, "Go on then." He growled.

"I-I'm sorry Albus." Jeremy started, staring at the ground. "I honestly never meant for you to get that hurt." He finished lamely. James shoved him hard, egging him to continue. "Um, and… I-I promise to leave you alone from now on." He added. James shoved him harder. "And Ian will too." He finished quickly. James rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed by the apology.  
>"Now, get the fuck out of my sight." James yelled again. Jeremy gave a tiny squeak and ran out of the room.<p>

Once they heard the portrait close behind Jeremy Albus couldn't help but laugh. "I can't believe how scared he is of you. Seriously, did you hear that squeak?" Albus looked at his brother. James face didn't look amused; in fact it looked the opposite. James looked seriously angry.

"What?" Albus snapped, suddenly annoyed. Why on earth would James be angry with _him_? He was victim in this situation!

"Were you planning to not tell anyone at all?" James asked him quietly, "Were you just going to let Jeremy get away with it?

Albus rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He muttered, "I had it under control."

"No Albus!" James said whacking his brother on the head. "You didn't have it under control. Getting your face cracked open doesn't count as having it under control."

"Well why don't you keep hitting me?" Albus shot back, "I'm sure that will help my serious head injury."

"Why didn't you tell me you idiot?" James continued.

"Well apparently you already knew." Albus replied, "I heard you talking to Jeremy, you know he's been tormenting me. So why didn't you do anything before?"

"Because," James said, voice slowly rising, "I was hoping that you would take care of it yourself. I was hoping that you would stand up for yourself and not let some punk like Jeremy mess with you. Apparently I was wrong."

Albus glared at his brother. "What did you want me to do?" He asked.

"Dammit Al! Hex him, put troll dung in his toothpaste. I don't care. You could have even told a teacher. Just do something, don't take it like you deserve it, like you're repenting for some wrong you've committed. You haven't done anything wrong."

"I know that!" Albus yelled, suddenly furious. He couldn't believe James was lecturing him. James was quiet for a moment, then he sighed loudly. Albus met his brother's eyes.

"You're not alone Albus." James said softly. "Lily was really worried about you. Next time just… just ask for help. We're always here for you."

Albus looked up at his big brother and had a sudden urge to give him a hug. Instead he crossed his arms and looked down at the floor. James and Albus weren't big huggers. More often they just gave the manly alternative of a slap on the back.

"Thanks." Albus said quietly.

"Yeah, yeah." James waved off his brother's words and started to walk towards the exit. "I just hope you can take care of this from now on. Jeremy and Ian may be assholes, but they're decent Quidditch players. If I have to lose a beater and a chaser this late in the season we'll have no hopes of beating Slytherin for the cup."

And with that James walked out of the common room and left his brother alone.

Albus rolled his eyes, of course that was what James was most worried about, Quidditch.

Sighing, Albus walked up the stairs to his dorm deciding that he fully deserved to sleep for the rest of the day.

* * *

><p>By dinner time that same night the news of Rose and Jeremy's break up was sweeping the castle. And, as usual, if there was something to be gossiped about it completely consumed the attention of most Hogwarts students.<p>

"I heard she slapped him, in front of everyone. Apparently he teared up and ran away crying."

"Well I heard James Potter kicked the crap out of him in the common room."

"I heard Albus has serious brain damage and is excused from homework for the rest of the term."

"Well I heard that Rose broke up with Jeremy because he was cheating on her, with Albus Potter!"

Scorpius couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous rumors being spread around the Slytherin table.  
>"What's so funny?" Wendy asked.<p>

Scorpius looked over at his friend. Wendy was one of the biggest gossipmongers in entire castle, there was no way she would appreciate his humor.

"Nothing." He replied with a smile.

Wendy smiled back and then asked, "Want to know something interesting that I heard?"

Scorpius almost had to laugh. Wendy could be so predictable.

"Oh, what's that?" he asked.

"I heard that a certain someone apologized to a certain someone else today." She whispered.

Scorpius practically spat out his dinner. He looked over at Wendy, who had a secretive smile on her face, and glared.

"I'll kill Stephanie. I mean it this time."

Wendy giggled, "Oh, don't be so moody. I think its sweet, and I promise I didn't tell anyone." She winked.

"Somehow I find that hard to believe." Scorpius sighed.

"I didn't think you ever apologized to anyone Scor. You must have really felt bad for Albus."

Scorpius sighed loudly, clearly frustrated with the conversation. "It's not like a MEANT it." He replied, "I just needed him to talk to me again."

"You _needed _him to talk to you? That's sweet, I had no idea you two were so close." Tess jumped in.

Scorpius turned and glared at the new addition to the conversation.

"Oh, don't worry I've been eavesdropping this whole time. No need to slow down the conversation for my sake." She smiled sweetly.

"This is exactly why I never tell you two anything."

"Why?" Wendy asked, "Because we always find out about it anyway?"

The two girls both laughed.

"No, because you're annoying." Scorpius replied grumpily. "And for the record I need Albus to talk to me for the plan. Remember the plan? Where I lead him down the path of wrongdoing to the utter horror of his friends and family? It's kind of hard to seduce a guy when he's ignoring you."

"Oh don't worry Scorpius, we remember the plan." Wendy said.

"Speaking of which" Tess added, "The 'plan' has been grinding to a stand still as of late."

"I'm working on that." Scorpius replied.

"Alright then, what is it?" Wendy questioned.

Scorpius looked over at the two girls, "Why should I tell you?"

Tess rolled her eyes and Wendy pouted.

"I promise not to be annoying ever again!" Wendy declared, "Please tell me!"

Although Scorpius could have pointed out that it was more likely for Jaysen to do his own homework then for Wendy to stop being annoying, he decided to spare the girls.

"Halloween party" he said.

Wendy almost gasped and Tess gave a crooked smile.

"Oh, you're evil." She said with a grin.

* * *

><p>Albus Potter was having a very busy week. Just yesterday he had suffered a massive head injury followed by a trip to the infirmary. Then came the return of his best friend, who dumped her asshole boyfriend. His brother took a sudden interest in his life and his sister almost gave him another massive head injury for not telling her about the first one. The next morning when Albus woke he really should have been prepared for anything.<p>

To his credit, Albus was prepared for most things. He was ready for his once hostile roommates to be deflated and despondent. He was also ready for most of the students in the castle to stop looking at him like some sort of pervert because of all the lies that Jeremy had told. Most of all, Albus was completely ready to sit and eat breakfast with Rose without Jeremy around. Finally, Albus thought that school could be enjoyable again. It could finally be normal.

That was, of course, before the letter came.

Because nothing could have prepared Albus for the letter.

* * *

><p>"What in the world does he expect me to do?" Albus asked his little sister frantically later that morning. They were in between classes and he offered to walk her to Potions as a clever cover for what he was really doing; which was freaking out.<p>

"Well I imagine that he expects you to go." Lily replied sarcastically. "Hence him sending you an invitation."

"But I can't just GO!" Albus told his sister, completely exasperated. "The Slytherin Halloween party is strictly for Slytherins!"

"Albus, when the most popular guy in Slytherin invites you, you're totally allowed to go." Lily said matter-of-factly. "And truthfully you'd be stupid not to go. Not only is it one of the coolest parties that happens in the castle all year but," her voice dropped to a whisper, "You have a fat crush on Scorpius. Why wouldn't you want to spend more time with him?"

Albus had conveniently not told his sister about the little fight Scorpius and his had in the woods.

"I dunno, he makes me really uneasy." Albus mumbled.

"That's because you're just new to this whole thing." Lily smiled, "Go. Get drunk. Have fun."

Albus sighed. "You know usually the older brother would be bad influence on the younger sibling. Not the other way around."

Lily grinned. "That's why you need to go out and party Al. So you can be a bad influence on me later." She laughed and Albus just shook his head.

Dropping her off at her classroom he head back up the stairs to get to his own class.

Although Lily made it sound so easy, Albus knew that going to the Halloween party could be a disaster. When he had received a letter from Scorpius that morning he was surprised to say the least. But when he opened it and read the contents he practically fell off of his bench. Luckily for him the letter burnt itself up after he finished reading it, saving him from Rosie's questioning. After all no one knew about his relationship (could you even call it that?) with Scorpius except Lily. So, first chance he got Albus tracked down his little sister and told her everything.

Now that he had collected the only advice available the decision was up to him.

Should he go and almost certainly be humiliated, or stay in his dorm and feel like a pathetic failure all night. Neither prospect seemed too tempting.

Walking into his DADA classroom Albus was pleased to find that his classmates were willing to sit near him today. The whole period he spent copying notes and trying to focus on his professor's lecture, hoping that it would distract his brain enough to forget about Scorpius or the party.

Needless to say, it didn't work.

* * *

><p>The next week and a half should have really been wonderful for Albus. The rumors surrounding his bloody appearance in the entrance hall were beginning to die down. He spent loads of time with Rosie and was even beginning to spend more time with Drew. He received a letter back from Teddy, apologizing for the late reply (he couldn't separate the owls) and saying they would meet in Hogsmeade on Saturday, the first of November.<p>

There was an air of excitement around the castle as the decorations for Halloween went up. Pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns furnished every hall and classroom. The ghosts even began acting more stereotypical; popping out of floors and walls to shoot 'BOO' at passing students.

Despite all of these things however, Albus couldn't relax. Every pumpkin he saw was just a painful reminder of the fact that Halloween was fast approaching. Even the thought of seeing his favorite cousin didn't cheer him up, because their meeting wasn't until the day _after_ Halloween. Albus wasn't even sure he would be able to meet his cousin, depending on how traumatizing his Friday night turned out. Scorpius sure didn't help the situation either. He never talked to Albus, but instead sent him cryptic little smirks whenever the two made eye contact.

Even with all his fretting and indecision however, Albus could not stop the days from steadily passing by. Soon enough it was October 31st.

By his last class of the day Albus still hadn't come to a resolution. To go or not to go, that was the question. At this rate, he would just be pacing the halls all night between the Gryffindor and Slytherin common rooms until a teacher gave him detention.

Walking into his transfiguration class Albus noticed Sullivan sitting alone in the front row. As soon as Sullivan saw Albus he waved him over. Sitting down next to the Slytherin Albus was about to say hello when Sullivan handed him a little piece of folded up paper.

Surprised, Albus opened up the note. There was only one word written on it. Cottonmouth.

"What is this?" Albus asked, turning to look back at Sullivan.

"The password, to get into the Slytherin common room tonight." Sullivan whispered back.

Albus visibly paled. "Oh." He said quietly.

"You are going aren't you?" Sullivan asked.

"I don't know." Albus replied truthfully.

"Why not?" Sullivan looked genuinely confused.

"I mean, I really don't belong there. It will be really awkward wont it? Plus, Scorpius treats me differently everyday. I never know where I stand with him." Only after he had said it did Albus realize he probably shouldn't have. Sullivan was Scorpius' friend, not his.

"I wouldn't worry about it being awkward. Once everyone figures out Scorpius invited you it wont be a big deal." Sullivan replied thoughtfully. "And about Scorpius, that's just his style. He thinks he's all mysterious and enigmatic. Once you hang out with him more often you get used to it."

Albus was surprised by how sincere Sullivan's response was.

"Also," Sullivan added a moment later, "I was really hoping you would come."

Albus looked up in surprise.

"Oh don't look so shocked." Sullivan laughed. "Usually these things are so boring. If you were there it would be a lot more interesting."

"You make it sound like I'm some sort of experiment." Albus said.

Sullivan smiled knowingly, and then gave a shrug.

Just then their professor started lecturing and the boys weren't able to talk again until the end of class.

"So are you coming?" Sullivan asked, packing up his things.

Albus didn't reply for a minute. "You think I should?"

"Have anything better to do?" Sullivan asked with a smirk.

Albus rolled his eyes. "Fine, I get it. I'll go."

"In that case, I'll see you tonight." Sullivan smiled and walked out of the classroom, leaving Albus alone to ponder what the hell he had just gotten himself into.

* * *

><p>"Ugh I can't believe I ate that much." Rose complained clutching her stomach.<p>

"Me either!" Amy chimed in, "I'm gonna get so fat!"

Grace, Rose and Albus all rolled their eyes.

"What?" Amy asked, defensively.

"Amy, you had like one roll and some salad." Grace responded.

"You didn't even have any pie!" Albus added, sounding offended.

"Whatever," Amy said. "You had enough pie for all of Gryffindor house!" She said, pointing an accusing finger at Albus.

He simply shrugged and rubbed his stomach. "It was good pie."

Everyone laughed at that and Albus couldn't help but smile. Ever since he and Rosie became friends again Amy and Grace had been hanging around as well. At first he was annoyed, thinking they would be just as critical and rude as before. Rosie must have talked to them or perhaps they had a change of heart; either way they were much nicer to him now and he almost felt like friends with the two girls.

As they approached the entrance to the Gryffindor common room the girls started talking about their plans for the night.

"I dunno, I heard some Ravenclaws might have a thing in one of the empty classrooms on the 5th floor." Grace said.

"Yeah, but those things get ratted out in less than an hour. Plus I really don't want to get a detention already." Rose complained.

"Well there might be something even smaller in the Gryffindor common room, but no alcohol because James wont allow it." Grace rolled her eyes.

"He's such a hypocrite!" Amy whined. "Last year he could out drink anyone, and now that he's head boy he acts like none of it ever happened."

"Well, that's my brother for you." Albus chuckled.

"Do you wanna come with us Al?" Rose asked. "I mean I know you don't usually go to parties, but you're welcome to join us."

"Yeah!" Amy all but squealed. "Come with us! That would be so much fun!"

Albus smiled slightly. "No thanks guys, I think I'm just gonna head back to my dorm, all that pie really made me sleepy."

"Okay." Rose smiled back at her cousin. "But if you change your mind, let me know."

"If only we could get into the Slytherin party!" Grace fumed aloud. "They always throw the most amazing Halloween parties!"

"Yeah, but those stupid snakes never let anyone else in." Amy reminded, "Strictly Slytherins only."

"Pricks." Grace mumbled. "They're all pricks."

Albus couldn't help but grin.

* * *

><p>"Cottonmouth." Albus said for what felt like the twentieth time. The wall still didn't move, and he cursed silently. Was this really another one of Scorpius' practical jokes? Albus hoped not, but that hope was starting to disappear. James had told him once where the entrance to the Slytherin common rooms was; in the cellar on the left, next to an old shield with a serpent on it.<p>

"Cottonmouth!" He said again, almost angry at the unaffected wall.

"Oi! What the fuck to do you think yer doing?" Albus heard a very loud and very Scottish voice him. Albus turned and to his horror realized that the voice belonged to none other than Coby Murray, one of the beaters for the Slytherin quidditch team. Although Coby was only in fifth year, he was already a head taller than Albus and more than twice as wide.

"This party is fer Slytherins only!" he bellowed again, "You better get outta here."

Albus was tempted to do just that and run way from the intimidating boy. But he had come all the way down here, he couldn't back out now.

"I was invited." Albus said matter-o-factly.

Coby just glared at him, and loomed closer. "Oh yeah? And who invited ya then?"

"Scorpius Malfoy!" Albus declared.

Coby's response wasn't exactly what Albus had in mind.

"Oh really? Well let's go an' ask him then." The fifth year stalked past Albus to the far side of the cellar and spoke the password into the wall. The wall slid sideways and created an opening to walk through.

"Well come on then!" Coby yelled again. Albus quickly scurried after him, through the archway and into the common room.

The Slytherin common room was nothing like what Albus expected. While the Gryffindor common room seemed like a parlor, the Slytherins had more of a dungeon. There was no furniture and it was dark, lit only by orange and green lights, that hung from the ceiling. The room was packed with people, mostly dancing, but there were some groups just standing and drinking.

It only took a few moments after entering for someone to ask. "Why the fuck is he here?"

Coby turned to the accuser. "I caught him saying the password to some random wall just outside. Says Scorpius Malfoy invited." Coby snickered, as did the other boy.

"Well, isn't that interesting." The boy sent a wicked smile at Albus. Before calling out "HEY MALFOY!" As loud as he possibly could.

The yell was loud enough for most of the room to quiet down, even the music seemed to get softer. That's when most people noticed Albus. There were a lot of outraged shouts and even a few laughs. Albus swallowed loudly. If Scorpius did play some joke and tell everyone that he hadn't been invited, Albus would be in deep shit.

"What the fuck do you want Perry?" Albus heard Scorpius' voice and a moment later the blond appeared. It took him a few moments to recognize Albus, but when he did he smiled.

"So Potter, you decided to come after all."

"Wait, what?" Coby looked astonished. "Did you actually invite him Scorpius?"

"Well of course I did," Scorpius stepped closer and slung his arm over Albus' shoulder. "You think Potter would have the balls to crash our little party without an invite." Albus chose to ignore the insult, happy that Scorpius was at least defending him.

"But this party is for Slytherins only!" The boy, who Scorpius had called Perry complained.

Scorpius looked taken aback. "You mean… Perry, you mean you don't know?"

"Know what?" Perry asked, clearly confused. By this time the common room was almost dead silent. The music had stopped and everyone was listening to Scorpius Malfoy.

"Well Albus here was supposed to be a Slytherin." Scorpius explained. "The sorting hat got it wrong. Albus asked to be in Slytherin but his last name was too famous for the hat to ignore. It put him in Gryffindor despite his wishes, and there he has suffered for the last five years." Albus almost rolled his eyes at the dramatic tone of Scorpius' voice.

Suddenly Steph appeared on Albus' other side. "That's why we're making Albus Potter an honorary Slytherin!" she announced proudly.

"WHAT?" He heard the crowd respond.

"What!?" Albus repeated.

"Don't worry you can thank us later," Steph whispered with a wink. To the crowd she yelled, "That's the deal, if you got a problem go talk to Scorpius. And if any of you give Albus shit Scorpius will be talking to you. Got it?"

At the idea of being on Scorpius Malfoy's bad side the whole group quieted down. A few people in the crowd even seemed entertained by the idea of a Potter being a Slytherin.

"Come on Albus." Stephanie grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the crowd that had surrounded him. She dragged him back to the opposite end of the common room, where some familiar faces were waiting.

"I told you he would come!" Jaysen yelled out, slapping Albus on the back. "Come on pay up Andy, I was right."

"They had a bet going that you wouldn't come." Sullivan informed Albus, "Ten galleons too."

"You must be seriously bad-ass or seriously insane to come to a Slytherin party." Andrew informed him, reaching in his robes for the money he owed Jaysen.

"Probably crazy," Albus admitted, "I still can't believe they didn't eat me alive."

Scorpius came up from behind him and laughed, "You obviously underestimate the amount of influence I have on these people. Besides Albus, I wouldn't invite you, just to get you fed to the wolves." He gave Albus a grin.

Albus sheepishly smiled back at the blond, "Yeah, well thanks again."

Just then the music started up again. It was so loud, that most conversation was impossible. Tess and Wendy both walked over from another group of girls they had been standing in.

"Let's dance!" Wendy yelled at Jaysen. He grinned and followed her onto the dance floor.

Tess didn't even ask, just grabbed Andrew's hand and pulled him towards the mob of grinding teens that was forming.

A moment later Stephanie grabbed Scorpius, "We're dancing!" She announced and the two of them disappeared as well.

The group had diminished from eight to two in a matter of seconds. Albus looked at Sullivan uneasily.

"Don't worry, I'm not leaving." Sullivan grinned, "Besides dancing really isn't my thing anyway."

Albus was visibly relieved. At least if he was going to stand on a wall all night he wouldn't have to do it alone.

"So what do you think of Slytherin parties?" Sullivan asked a few minutes later.

"They are definitely a lot bigger than I imagined." Albus decided. "Gryffindor sometimes has parties after Quidditch matches or something. But our common room is so small that you can't even move."

"It's a trade off I would say. We give up the whole "cozy family" setting for floor space." Sullivan grinned. "We aren't very cozy people anyway."

The two boys drifted into a comfortable silence after that. Albus was content to just watch the on goings of the party. Slytherins definitely had louder parties. The average Gryffindor party involved a fair amount of drinking games but was mostly a communal event, people would talk and laugh and just hang out. Slytherin parties had music blasting the entire time. Albus could barely hear himself think, and almost everyone else at the party seemed to be dancing.

"HERE!" Albus heard someone yell out to him. Jaysen was standing in front of him with a cup of… well Albus assumed it was alcohol. Albus had been so zoned out that he hadn't even noticed Jaysen come up.

"What is it?" Albus asked, reaching for the class.

"Beer!" Jaysen called back.

Albus took a tentative sip and almost spat it back out.

"This isn't butter beer!" Albus yelled out.

"No, it's muggle beer!" Jaysen yelled back.

"It's disgusting!" Albus noticed Sullivan laughing at him.

"It'll get you drunk faster," Jaysen informed him, "It looks like you could use it."

Albus couldn't argue there.

"Just chug it." Sullivan suggested.

Deciding to take his advice Albus turned the cup up and drank the contents down as quickly as he could.

As soon as the cup was empty it magically refilled itself.

As soon as Albus saw this his face sunk.

Jaysen simply laughed at him "Have fun." He said, and then went back out into the crowd.

Sighing Albus continued to take little sips of the beer, finding that he was slowly getting used to the taste.

Sullivan continued to chat with him about things. The classes they were taking, and how they felt about a certain professor. Albus found himself easing up and feeling more comfortable. Sullivan was really friendly and they actually had a lot in common.

"Hey Albus!" Wendy called. She was interrupting Sullivan telling Albus about his experience during the OWL for herbology but Albus turned to look at her anyways.

"Hey Wendy." He smiled.

"Do you wanna dance?" He stopped smiling.

"No."

"Come on! I'll teach you how! The guy part is soooooooo easy!"

Albus laughed a little at her insistence. "No Wendy."

"But this is my favorite song!"

"I don't even know this song Wendy." Albus retorted.

"Its by ManDrake! You don't know ManDrake?" Wendy sounded offended.

"Nope." Well, that wasn't entirely true; Albus knew of ManDrake. He was a Canadian wizard who had chosen to be a rap artist. He was very famous in America and had started to gain more popularity in the Britain, but Albus didn't listen to his music, and he certainly didn't know the song that Wendy was so excited about.

"Whatever, you still have to dance with me. I'm not going to let you stand on this wall all night." She grabbed Albus' arm and tried to pull him to the dance floor.

"No! Wendy-," She obviously wasn't listening. "Sullivan help me!" Sullivan reached out and grabbed Albus' cup.

"Here, I'll hold this for you. Have fun" He smiled and gave a little wave.

Albus glared back as he was dragged to the middle of the grinding mob. He changed his mind, he didn't like Sullivan anymore.

"Come on Albus, it'll be fun!" Wendy said, when they finally stopped. She turned away from him and pressed herself up against him.

"Now just put your hands here." She grabbed both of his hands and placed them on her hips. "And just bounce to the music."

Albus noticed that the people around were all looking at him.

"Wendy, please, I can't do this!" He said nervously.

"Sure you can." She replied, and started swinging against him. Albus looked around frantically at the other people dancing around him. The other boys were doing exactly what Wendy had said, they were moving from side to side. Slowly Albus started to move his hips trying to match his pace to Wendy's. She was obviously a much better dancer than him and he felt incredibly awkward. His movements were stiff and too slow.

In the middle of the song the beat picked up and Wendy began to move faster. She also began to lean farther and farther down until her body was almost parallel to the floor. This made dancing even more awkward. Now Albus couldn't even see her, he was just grinding against her.

Albus heard a chuckle and looked up. Before Wendy had been blocking his view, but now he saw that Scorpius was right in front of him, dancing with some Slytherin girl.

Albus blushed, embarrassed by his current situation and Scorpius just laughed a little more. Albus couldn't help but notice that Scorpius was a very good dancer. He wasn't just bobbing side to side; he was moving to the beat and twisting his hips.

Albus couldn't help but imagine dancing with Scorpius. If Scorpius' hands were on his hips, and he was bent over, pushed up against Scorpius'-

Albus blushed even harder than before, he couldn't believe he had just thought that. Scorpius seemed to notice his sudden discomfort. He flashed him a small grin almost as if he had known what Albus was thinking. Albus looked away quickly.

As soon as the song ended, Albus broke away from Wendy and hurried back to his wall.

"Albus!" Wendy called out, chasing after him, "Come on, just one more song!" She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back to the floor. He just shook her off, there was no way he was going through that embarrassment again.

"I'm such a bad dancer," he reasoned, "You should find someone else to dance with." What he meant was, you should go rub your ass against someone who is actually interested in your ass, but he thought that might be a bit rude.

Reaching the wall Albus noticed that Sullivan was no longer there. Wendy had followed him back, so he asked her where the boy had gone.

"Oh, I don't know. Probably to bed, he doesn't like these parties very much."

Albus sighed.

"Well then, I think it's time for me to go as well." Albus said with a slight smile.

"What? No!" Wendy's eyes went wide. "You've barely been here an hour. You can't go!"

"Well, I really don't want to dance anymore," Albus confessed, "No offense." He added lamely.

"What about with Scorpius?" Wendy asked suddenly.

"No!" Albus blurted out. "No, Wendy I just want to go."

She apparently hadn't heard him because she yelled as loud as possible, "SCORPIUS!"

When she turned back Albus was gone.

* * *

><p>Albus finally made his way out of the Slytherin common room. When he heard the doorway close behind him he sighed. He felt bad about rushing out of the party, but there was no way he could dance with Scorpius, no way!<p>

Albus tensed up a moment later when he heard the doorway open again. He turned and saw Scorpius coming towards him.

"Is that how you thank someone for inviting you to a party? You run out without even saying goodbye?" Scorpius actually looked a little angry.

"I'm sorry I just- " Albus started, but Scorpius interrupted him with a laugh.

"Calm down, I'm only joking. Come on lets go." He said, walking forward."

"Go? Where are we going?" Albus wondered aloud.

"Back to your common room." Scorpius said as if it was obvious. "Didn't you want to go back there?"

"Wait, so your walking me back?" Albus asked incredulous.

"Sure, why not. I was getting a little bored anyways." Scorpius shrugged as if it was no big deal, but Albus couldn't help but grin.

They walked side by side down the long hallways and up many flights of stairs. Albus smelled alcohol on the other boy but Scorpius didn't seem too drunk.

After walking in silence for a while Scorpius finally spoke.

"I've been thinking a lot about what you said the other day. You know, when I called you a loser and everything."

Albus cringed, how could he forget? "I already forgave you for that." He mumbled.

Scorpius shook his head, "No, I've been thinking about what _you _said. About how I've never worked for anything and I cant do anything without my parents."

Albus was shocked, "Oh. Scorpius, I'm really sorry about that! I was just angry because of the things you said. It's not true!"

Scorpius laughed, "Well of course it is. You're the only one who has ever told me the truth, that I'm pathetic."

Albus reached out and grabbed Scorpius' hand, "No, your not." He said earnestly. "You just need to find yourself, you need to find your calling."

Scorpius snorted, but he didn't pull his hand away. "My calling? How the hell am I supposed to find that?"

"Well…" Albus thought, "What do you like to do? And don't say drinking or having sex or something. I mean, like what are your hobbies?"

Scorpius shrugged, "Potions I guess."

"Really?" Albus was surprised, "I didn't know that."

"Yeah, well I don't tell many people." Scorpius started swinging their arms, still holding Albus' hand. "But I really like it. I even got an O on my potions O.W.L."

"Well why don't you do that?" Albus suggested.

"You have no idea how hard it is to be a potion master, even being a potion maker for St. Mungos is bloody difficult."

"I think you can do it." Albus offered.

"Albus, my grades are shit, my O.W.L.s are shit. My work ethic is shit. I'm shit!"

Albus pulled his hand away and smacked the blond on the back of his head.

"Ow!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"Don't say that." Albus said, suddenly bold. "You're not shit. You just need to believe in yourself."

"Why should I?" Scorpius sighed. Albus noticed they were nearing the Gryffindor common room. He had never been so disappointed to see the fat lady before in his life.

"No one else believes in me. Not my friends, or my parents or my teachers."

"Well, I believe in you." Albus said quietly.

Scorpius stopped walking and turned to look at Albus. His face was almost confused.

After a few moments Albus became uneasy.

"What?" he asked quietly. "What are you looking at?"

Scorpius didn't answer. But a moment later he brought his hand to the side of Albus' face.

"Wha…." Albus trailed off. His eyes were locked on Scorpius'.

Suddenly Scorpius leaned in and pressed his lips against Albus'. Instinctively Albus tilted his head and leaned into the kiss. Before he could even fully grasp what had happened Scorpius pulled away.

Their eyes met for a moment and then Scorpius turned and walked away without a word.

Albus stood there watching the Slytherin walk away, trying to grasp what had just happened.

Finally as Scorpius was about to turn the corner Albus yelled out, "Good night!"

Scorpius turned, and raised his hand in some sort of wave, and then he was gone.

Albus just smiled.


	13. Chapter 13

Hello! And Happy Halloween (a day late). So, although I started this story last Christmas, I noticed that I actually am currently in sync with the timeline of the story, meaning this chapter takes place on the day after Halloween and I'm posting the chapter on the day after Halloween. Because of this happy accident I've decided to try and keep it this way AND because my story ends at the end of the school year, that means it should be finished by June, in case any of you care.

Alright, now read on!

* * *

><p>A brisk wind swept through the streets of Hogsmeade. Scorpius and his friends scrambled into the Three Broomsticks. Walking towards their normal window booth Scorpius rolled his eyes when he saw that Ravenclaws had already taken it. Fourth-years no less. As the group of Slytherins got closer the fourth-years looked up. Their smiling faces became scared, and the group went quiet.<p>

Scorpius stopped in front of the table and stood there for a moment, taking in the silence.

"Having a nice time are we?" He asked, with a sneer. No one spoke, one girl nodded. Scorpius shot her a glare. "Get up." He told them all. Instead of moving they all sat there in confusion.

"Are you all going deaf?" Andrew yelled at them. "Get the hell out!"

The all hurried out, and scurried past the group of Slytherins.

"Oh look," Tess said sliding into the booth, "Looks like there's a table open for us." They all began to laugh, sliding into the booth.

Before long the conversation turned to the events of the night before, from which the entire group, minus Sullivan, was still hung over from.

"Did you see Devin last night?" Tess asked.

"Oh Merlin, yes!" Steph rolled her eyes, "That girl was so drunk I was embarrassed for her."

"I don't think I saw her." Andrew said, sounding disappointed.

"Oh, I think you did." Scorpius said with a smirk. "She was the one leaving Jaysen's bed this morning." Jaysen shot Scorpius a death glare, while the rest of the table gasped.

"Jaysen! You didn't!" Wendy yelled.

"She was hardy conscious how could you?" Steph said, slapping the back of his head.

"Well she was enthusiastic enough once we took our clothes off." Jaysen replied.

"I can't believe that she was Devin Bagsley," Andrew said, still looking surprised. "She's got a much nicer ass than I would have thought."

"Excuse me?" Tess asked, sounding angry.

"What?" Andrew replied defensively, "I saw it when she ran out of the room to puke in the middle of the night."

"And that my friends is exactly why you don't let them spend the night." Scorpius said, with a knowing nod.

"So tell us Scorpius, what time did you kick Lacey out last night?" Jaysen asked.

"Right after I was done with her." Scorpius replied, without a shred of embarrassment in his voice.

"You slept with Lacey last night?" Steph sounded horrified.

"When you were done with her?" Wendy asked sounding equally as horrified. "Why are you such a jerk."

"It's my MO Wendy." Scorpius smiled, "The girls love it."

Wendy responded with a gagging sound.

"So is that where you were all night then?" Tess asked. "I feel like I didn't see you at all."

"Oh, that's not all he did." Wendy said devilish smile, "He had to walk our little Gryffindor home, didn't you Scorpius?"

Scorpius shot a glare at Wendy, "So what if I did?"

"You guys were gone for an awfully long time." Wendy remarked, taking a sip of her drink.

"What?" Steph asked, "I had no idea about this! What happened?"

"Nothing." Scorpius replied.

"What do you mean nothing?" Jaysen asked, "Don't give us that Scorpius."

"Alright, so I kissed him." Scorpius finally admitted, "Not a big deal, just going along with the plan or whatever."

"Oh was that why?" Wendy asked with a little smirk.

"You better have made it good." Tess said a moment later, "I bet that was the kid's first snog."

Scorpius was going to come back with some witty remark, but Tess' words made him stop and think. Had that really been Albus' first kiss. It couldn't have been! The guy was sixteen years old, there was no way he hadn't been kissed before…. Right?

"Well look who it is." Sullivan said, pointing out the window.

Scorpius turned just in time to see Albus run and jump into the arms of an older man. The Slytherin felt a flash of what he might have thought was jealousy if he didn't know any better. Good thing he did know better, and he knew that he would never be jealous of Albus Potter, or that guy, whoever he was. Who was that guy anyways?

"Isn't that Ted Lupin?" Andrew asked. Scorpius looked and confirmed that yes; it was the Potter's adoptive son, Albus' unofficial older brother. Knowing this fact helped Scorpius calm down a little more, and the weight that had been on his chest a moment earlier vanished. However the fact that it had been there at all was what worried Scorpius the most.

"So, Scorpius." Andrew asked, turning back to his friend, "When did you and Lacey get together?"

"As soon as I got back," Scorpius shrugged.

"Man…" Andrew sighed, "You really are a jerk."

* * *

><p>Albus spotted Teddy from a long way off. He split apart from Rose and her friends to run to meet his brother.<p>

"Teddy!" He called running up and wrapping his arms around the other man, unable to hide his excitement.

"Hello Albus." Teddy chuckled, pulling his favorite family member into a big hug.

Of course Teddy and Albus weren't really brothers, they both knew that. But Teddy preferred to be thought of as a brother than as an orphaned family friend, and Albus preferred Teddy to James, so it worked out fine.

Rose made her way over at a regular pace. When she reached Teddy they also shared a hug. Then Rose excused herself, saying she had to go meet her friends and walked off, leaving Albus and Teddy alone.

"So, about your cryptic letter..." Teddy started.

Albus, sighed. He knew this was coming, he had asked to meet with Teddy for this specific reason, but now we was nervous.

"Come on," he said finally, grabbing his brother's coat sleeve. "Let's find a place we can talk."

* * *

><p>They walked away from the busy streets of Hogsmeade and back towards the hillside. The pair continued walking until a decrepit old shack came into view. Teddy stopped and stared at the Shrieking Shack. Then he gave a small sad smile and looked down at Albus.<p>

"Somehow I always end up here." He chuckled.

Albus nodded.

"No matter where I try to walk to in Hogsmeade, my feet always take me here."

Albus nodded again, having nothing to say to Teddy. The only thing Teddy knew of his parents were stories that others told to him. One of the most common was the tale of the Shrieking Shack. When Teddy went to Hogwarts he apparently spent a lot of time near the shack. Never entering it, but simply staring at the broken down little house where his father was kept during full moons.

Albus didn't understand why Teddy wanted to look at the shack so much, but he reasoned that it was something he would never understand. He had both his parents and he wouldn't know what to do without them.

After a few minutes of silence Teddy seemed to snap out of it.

"Geez, what am I doing?" He laughed, "Getting all wrapped up, I've completely forgotten what I came here for." He glanced down at Albus, face becoming serious. "We need to discuss your cryptic letter."

"Oh, don't look so serious." Albus said. "I told you it's no big deal."

"I'll be the judge of that!" Teddy announced, sitting down on an old stump. "Now, go on."

So Albus told Teddy everything.

"Only you would decide that what you just told me is 'not a big deal'," Teddy sighed. He looked up at his little brother, who looked so vulnerable in front of him. Albus was waiting for Teddy to say something, to say anything.

"I'm glad you told me." Teddy said after a moment.

"You're mad." Albus said quietly.

"What?! Why would you say that? Albus, I'm not mad!"

"Well you're sure not happy." Albus said, pouting.

"I'm just...processing." Teddy chose his words carefully, "finding out that you are gay and in love with Scorpius Malfoy and that you snogged him last night is... well, its a surprise."

Albus didn't say anything, but just stared at Teddy.

"What?" Teddy asked, "Am I not allowed to be surprised?"

"I just thought you would be happy for me." Albus said quietly.

"Are you happy?" Teddy asked.

Albus nodded with a small smile.

"Well then I'm happy for you," Teddy said, "its just that..."

"What?" Albus asked, suddenly defensive.

"Albus, I was only at Hogwarts with you for one year, and I still heard stories about Malfoy. Even at 11 he was a... well a troublemaker I guess you could say. And I've heard that he hasn't gotten any better."

Albus didn't respond, so Teddy continued.

"I just don't want him to hurt you..." Teddy said.

Albus sighed, but then looked up and smiled at his brother, "Don't worry, I can handle myself."

Now, it was Teddy's turn to sigh, hoping that Albus knew what he was getting himself into.

"Well, at least it looks like you and Rosie and are getting along. In your letter you made it seem like you were fighting."

"Oh, yeah we've been fine ever since she broke up with her boyfriend." Albus confessed.

"Really?" Teddy looked surprised, "Didn't she go on some sort of family vacation with him this summer? I thought they were pretty serious. Why did they break up?"

"Oh..." Albus had no idea what to tell Teddy, who was much more protective than James. If he found out that Rose's ex-boyfriend had been bullying him all year… well Albus just really didn't want to deal with that.

"He, um plays quidditch, and I think that he was too busy. She said he never spent any time with her. She finally got so fed up with it that she dumped him." Albus cringed internally, hoping that Teddy would buy his weak attempt at a lie.

"That's unfortunate. But with James as a captain it's a wonder that the team ever leaves the field. He takes devotion to a whole other level." Teddy replied with a laugh. Albus weakly laughed in return.

"Come on!" Albus said, taking a couple steps away from his brother, back towards Hogsmeade. "It's getting kind of cold, lets go inside."

"Where do you want to go?" Teddy asked, standing up and following the younger boy.

"Three Broomsticks! We can get a couple butter beers and you can tell me about your beautiful romance with my cousin." Albus laughed.

Teddy took one last glance behind him, at the shack before turning back towards Albus.

"Let me guess," He said with a smile, "I'm buying."

"Well," Albus replied, "If you insist."

* * *

><p>A few minutes later the two entered the old tavern, which was filled to capacity with students attempting to escape the cold.<p>

"Wow, it's really packed." Teddy said, once they got inside. "How about I get us drinks, and you try and find a place to sit." He offered.

"Albus?" He asked a second later, after no response. Turning to look at his little brother, he realized that Albus was not paying attention to him in the slightest; apparently something across the room had caught his eye. Looking to see what that thing was, Teddy quickly found it. In the corner of the large room, sat a large group of Slytherins and in the middle of that group sat one Scorpius Malfoy.

Teddy watched as Albus and Malfoy made eye contact. Albus smiled sheepishly, and then Scorpius grinned and winked. Albus blushed and gave a tiny wave before turning around and facing his brother once again.

"Sorry Teddy, did you say something?" Albus asked, still blushing.

Teddy took a moment to reply. "You go find seats, I'll get drinks."

"Right!" Albus replied, and then scurried away.

Teddy took one last look at the Malfoy before getting the drinks, and immediately wished that he hadn't. The rest of the day Teddy wasn't able to shake the image from his head, and when he went to bed that night, the blonde's face kept him awake.

It wasn't really the face as much as the look.

The look that Malfoy had given his baby brother, as he turned away had been far from innocent.  
>In fact if Teddy had to compare it to anything, he would probably have said it looked like a serpent, watching and waiting to capture its prey.<p>

'I can handle myself' Albus had told him, but Teddy was beginning to seriously doubt it.


	14. Chapter 14

Good things come to those who wait :) Enjoy

* * *

><p>It was Friday afternoon when Scorpius Malfoy walked into his dorm and saw Sullivan sitting with someone on his bed. Just the fact that Sullivan was with someone in the room was shocking. Sullivan had hardly any friends outside of their Slytherin group. Beyond that, he rarely paid any attention to girls, so the fact that he brought one over was even more interesting.<p>

At first Scorpius considered walking back out and leaving, letting his friend have some _alone time_ with his guest, but then Scorpius took a closer look and saw that the guest was not a girl. Even worse, it was Albus Potter. The moment he recognized Albus Scorpius felt a glare slowly begin to grow on his face. Then when Albus turned and saw him, it grew even worse. Albus smiled and gave a little wave, starting to blush. This made Scorpius feel like he was blushing, even though that was impossible, because Malfoys did not blush. So instead he glared more. Albus' eyes grew wide at the blonde's unexpected response.

"Uh, I think I'm going to go." Albus said after a moment of awkward silence. He grabbed his bag, waved goodbye to Sullivan and walked past Scorpius. Neither of them said a word, and the room continued to be silent until the door closed behind the Gryffindor.

"What the fuck was that?" Scorpius demanded once he and Sullivan were alone.

Sullivan turned away and gave Scorpius no response. Scorpius reached out and grabbed his friend.

"Sullivan! What the hell?"

"It's really none of your business." Was Sullivan's stony response.

The forcefulness of Sullivan's tone caused Scorpius to pause, forgetting his anger for a moment.

"What? Are you mad at me now? What did I do?" Scorpius demanded.

Sullivan considered the blond for another moment, and then shook his head, this time his expression was softer, almost pitying.

"Never mind mate." Sullivan sighed, "I gotta go." And with those finals words Scorpius was left alone in the dorm.

Scorpius threw his bag down on the floor and fell onto his bed. The encounter moments before had been the worst ending to the worst week. Everyday, everywhere he turned he felt like all he saw was Albus, Albus, Albus. Obviously seeing the boy was to be expected, they went to the same school after all, lived in the same castle, ate meals three times a day in the same hall.

No, it wasn't just that he saw the Gryffindor, it was that he always saw Albus with _his _friends. Walking around smiling like he didn't have a care in the world. Whispering like they were sharing some sort of secret. Who did Albus Potter think he was? Did he think he was better than Scorpius somehow? Scorpius groaned in frustration, when he realized that his mind was racing with jealous thoughts about the Gryffindor. Sure, maybe Albus was stepping too quickly into his territory, but the real question was why did it make Scorpius so angry.

* * *

><p>On Monday it had been Tess. Scorpius had seen her and Albus walking down the hallways. He hadn't assumed anything strange, until he approached the two. As soon as Tess saw him she immediately stopped what she was saying. Even worse when Scorpius asked what they were doing they both in unison responded "Nothing!" Moments later Albus made some excuse to escape and Tess pretended that nothing had happened.<p>

On Tuesday it was Jaysen. Scorpius had been in the library, a very rare occasion for him but he was supposed to meet a girl, Claire Lindsey, there for a hookup. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Jaysen sitting in the back tables with, again, Albus Potter. If there was an award for least amount of time spent in the library it would have gone to Jaysen, no competition. However, when Scorpius approached his friend the exact same thing happened as with Tess. Albus and Jaysen grew quiet and when Scorpius asked what they were doing Jaysen forced a small laugh and responded, "Oh, nothing much… just… reading…"

"Reading?" Scorpius didn't believe it for a second, if only because there hadn't been any books in front of them. Jaysen had spluttered around some more before excusing himself to go to class, again highly improbable. Moments later Albus also excused himself and Scorpius was left, alone and extremely suspicious.

Wednesday, Scorpius went down to the Great Hall, looking for Andrew; and he found him sitting at the Gryffindor table having a seemingly serious conversation with Albus. It wasn't mealtime, so the tables weren't packed, but the two boys were still getting some curious looks from nearby students. Scorpius sneaked up behind the two, determined to hear what the two were talking about.

"-you just have to take the risk." Scorpius heard Albus say.

"Well, yeah but we're great friends. I don't want to ruin that." Andrew replied slowly.

"Are you telling me you want to be friends for the rest of your life?" Albus asked.

"Well…no." Was Andrew's response.

Scorpius couldn't believe what he was hearing. Andrew was going to Albus for advice? Andrew was his best friend! Why would he choose to talk to Albus? Unless… Scorpius' mind played back through the conversation he heard. Had they been talking about him?

Just then Andrew turned around and noticed Scorpius.

"Scorpius!" He exclaimed, almost looking afraid, "How long have you been standing there?"

"I just walked up." Scorpius lied, "I was looking for you, so we can go to Transfiguration together." Scorpius was careful not to make eye contact with Albus.

"Oh, yeah sure." Andrew said hurriedly, getting up and grabbing his books. "Lost track of time." He grinned and slapped his friend on the back. "Let's go."

Scorpius nodded and walked away, without looking back at the Gryffindor they were leaving behind.

"Later Albus." Andrew called.

On Thursday, nothing happened. Albus Potter seemed to disappear off of the face of the planet. Scorpius didn't see him at meals or in the halls, or in the library (he looked). Even more, all his friends seemed back to normal, they weren't avoiding him or acting strange. Scorpius took this as a sign that he had been overreacting. Clearly there wasn't some secret plot being formed against him. This good mood continued on into Friday, when the youngest Potter stayed scarce. That was of course until Scorpius went back to his dorm after classes.

* * *

><p>Scorpius was brought back to the present by the sound of someone entering the room. Lifting his head off his bed, Scorpius identified the individual as Stephanie, grunted a hello, and then let his head drop again.<p>

"Well hi to you too." Stephanie said, sitting down next to her friend and pulling little strings off of his robes. Scorpius just lay there saying nothing.

"Sullivan found me in the common room, said I should come and check on you. Everything ok?"

Scorpius grunted again, and rolled on to his side, away from Stephanie.

"What's the matter?" she asked, not sounding exactly concerned, just interested.

"Everyone likes Albus better than they like me." Scorpius finally said. Immediately after, he regretted it. There was nothing about what he just said that didn't sound like a whiney child.

Stephanie laughed and ruffled her friend's hair. "I should have guessed." She laughed again, "Scorpius, did you know that you are the most self-obsessed person I have ever met?" He sat up and glared at her.

"Oh calm down," she said still chuckling, "I still love you more than anyone, but you can be a right prat when you want to."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Was the boy's angry response.

"Scorpius!" Stephanie sounded exasperated, "Who was the one who told us to all be friend's with Albus, who is the one who keeps inviting him places? It's you! We started this whole thing for you! Now, just because Albus is getting along with everyone doesn't mean he's going to take your place."

Scorpius sighed, feeling silly. Steph was the only person on the planet who could make Scorpius see reason when he got like this. He hated her for it and loved her for it at the same time.

"Come on, ya big baby, were going down to dinner." Steph grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, not an easy task.

Scorpius followed and the two left hand in hand.

* * *

><p>Dinner proved to be uneventful. Sullivan said nothing about the encounter earlier that afternoon, and everyone seemed too interested in the fact that the house elves had made garlic mashed potatoes againto talk about much else.<p>

Later that night Scorpius lay in his bed staring at the curtains around his four-poster bed. It wasn't that he was staying awake for a particular reason, but his body just wasn't tired. Andrew had forgotten to cast a silencing charm around his bed again, and so his monstrous snores echoed throughout the room. Scorpius' stomach gently rumbled reminding him that he hadn't eaten much for dinner. All of these things combined caused Scorpius to be wide awake at merlin knows what hour of the night, and therefore caused him to hear when Jaysen tried to quietly get up and slip out of the room. Scorpius moved his curtains aside just in time to see Jaysen close the door gently behind him.

This kind of late-night escapade wasn't exactly unusual for the less than wholesome boy. However, what was strange was the secrecy. Normally if Jaysen had a hook up planned he would brag about it all day, but Scorpius hadn't heard a single word. The blond lay in bed for a few more moments before deciding to follow his friend, reasoning that he couldn't fall asleep anyways, so why not. Pulling his shoes and pants on as quickly as he could, Scorpius grabbed a sweater and his wand before going out into the night.

Thirty minutes later Scorpius realized a fatal flaw to his plan, he had no idea where Jaysen had been going. As soon as he exited the Slytherin common room his friend had been nowhere in sight. He had spent the last half hour searching the usual haunts, abandoned classrooms, old broom closets even dark shadowy corners, but to no avail.

Now, on the fourth floor of the east wing of the castle, very far from his nice warm bed Scorpius suddenly felt exhausted and much less interested in finding out whatever Jaysen was doing. He had just decided to head back when he turned a corner and saw a door ajar in front of him. Recognizing it as the door that held the staircase to the astronomy tower Scorpius frowned for a moment thinking; all those stairs, possibly for nothing. But in the end his curiosity won out.

Slowly climbing the stairs and yawning along the way, his ears perked when he heard voices coming from above. Suddenly alert, Scorpius climbed the remaining stairs with ease and poked his head carefully out of the trapdoor. Two dark figures were just barely visible lying close together on the stone floor of the tower. They were gazing up to the stars and talking quietly.

From his distance Scorpius couldn't make out who they were. He moved as quietly as he could but the wooden door creaked as he tried to step out. The two figures quickly sat up and turned towards the door. Scorpius stood and tried to make out their faces.

"Scorpius?" a familiar voice called out. Scorpius couldn't believe his ears; that voice belonged to Albus Potter.

"Shit." He heard the other say.

"Lumos." A light burst from Scorpius' wand and basked the three boys in a soft glow. Now Scorpius could clearly see the horrified looks on both Jaysen and Albus' faces.

"Why-" Jaysen started, but his voice failed him and he looked like he was going to be sick.

"What the fuck are you two doing?" Scorpius yelled, though it had been quite clear what they were doing. Albus looked at Jaysen and Jaysen looked at Scorpius. For a moment they were all silent, and then Jaysen shook his head and walked towards the door.

"Where the hell are you going?" Scorpius asked. Jaysen didn't respond, he simply climbed down the stairs and disappeared.

This simply left Scorpius and Albus alone, with a very, very awkward silence.

Finally Albus spoke. "Scorpius-" was all he got out before Scorpius turned and glared at the Gryffindor, making him fall silent.

"This is all your fault you know." Scorpius whispered angrily.

"What is my fault?" Albus demanded, "You don't even know what you are talking about."

"I know that you are trying to steal my friends. Tess and Andrew and Sullivan and apparently your trying to get in with Jaysen too. Never knew you were such a whore Potter. Guess it just goes to show you, it's true what they say about the quiet ones."

Albus was staring at the ground his hands balled into fists, shaking slightly. Scorpius was so angry and he didn't even know why, he turned to go back down the door that Jaysen had left open, when Albus' voice stopped him.

"Astronomy."

Scorpius turned around, "What?"

"I was helping Jaysen with astronomy tonight, and the other day in the library, tutoring him. He can't fail again, he was desperate and asked me to help."

Albus looked up and met Scorpius' eyes. His were red, and holding back tears, but there was also anger in his expression.

"Tess was asking me about Andrew, she has a crush on him and wanted to know if I thought he liked her. Andrew was talking to me about Tess, asking me how he can show her he likes her without ruining their friendship. Sullivan just wanted to know how I was able to break the hedge barrier around your forbidden forest hide out."

Scorpius let all these words sink in; he couldn't find anything to say in return.

"I'm not trying to steal your friends Scorpius. I wanted to get closer to them because I wanted to get closer to you because you kissed me and I thought it was really amazing." Now tears were falling from Albus' eyes and Scorpius felt a familiar pang of guilt in his stomach.

"And hearing YOU call ME a whore is really, really entertaining Scorpius because I was the one who had to hear about you sleeping with some Slytherin the same night that you kissed me, and then I had to pretend like I didn't care. I tried to get over it, and I tried to be nice to you but suddenly this week you started treating me like shit, ignoring me and glaring at me when I'm around. Merlin, I knew when I started this that you were going to mess with my feelings; I knew that this was some sort of game for you but I don't know why you have to be so cruel."

Albus took a deep breath and wiped the tears that had fallen from his face away with his sleeve.

"Fuck…" Scorpius said a few moments later. Albus glared at him, silently demanding that he say more.

"I don't suppose that an apology will suffice this time." Scorpius sighed.

"It's a start." Albus replied quietly.

Scorpius took a few steps towards the Gryffindor. "I honestly don't know why seeing you with my friends made me so angry Albus. And I'm really sorry that I took it out on you, I'm being an idiot."

Albus nodded, and moved to sit back down on the stone floor. Carefully Scorpius moved to sit next to him. The two boys sat in silence for a minute or two.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you about tutoring Jaysen, he was really adamant that no one knew." Albus sighed, "Actually I wasn't supposed to tell you about Andrew or Tess either. Looks like I'm a pretty shitty secret keeper."

Scorpius shook his head, "Don't worry about that, I'll just tell them that I made you tell me."

"Made me?" Albus asked.

"I can be very persuasive." Scorpius said, with a grin.

Albus sighed, but cracked a small smile, and the two fell into silence again.

"Albus," Scorpius said, after what felt like hours.

"Yeah?" Albus responded.

"I think the reason I got so angry this week was just by how well you got along with everyone. Wendy loves you and so does Sully. Now Jaysen, Andrew and Tess are all coming to you for advice."

"Scorpius, they are still your friends, it's not like they are choosing me over you." Albus tried to reason.

"Its not about them Albus, it's about you. They all can talk to you so easily." Scorpius gulped, scared about what he would say next. "I can flirt with you all I want, but when it comes to talking like this, I have no idea what to say. Why can't I just do what they do? I'm afraid you're going to start liking them more than you like me." As soon as he said it Scorpius realized it was the truth, it may be immature and jealous, but it was true.

To his surprise Albus blushed. "That's doubtful."

"Oh yeah, and why is that?" Scorpius countered.

"Because," Albus said blushing even harder, " I don't like any of them the way I like you." Then Albus turned and looked him directly in the eyes. Scorpius felt his heart speed up and his face get hot. For a second he thought he might be blushing, but of course that was impossible, because Malfoy's didn't blush.

Albus leaned in a tiny bit and bit his lip nervously. That was the only invitation Scorpius needed. He leaned in towards the Gryffindor and pressed their lips together. This time however, he didn't pull away after a moment, he leaned farther and farther deepening the kiss. Despite Albus' earlier anger his response to the kiss was instantaneous. He leaned into Scorpius and kissed him back without hesitation. Scorpius pushed his tongue forward into Albus' mouth and reveled the feeling that it gave. Exploring Albus' mouth Scorpius couldn't help but smile when he tasted what only could have been garlic mashed potatoes, and he loved it.

Scorpius shifted his body so he was looming over the other boy, and they quickly sunk until Albus was lying on the ground with Scorpius on top of him. The blond moved his hands to run up and down Albus' body, loving the involuntary shivers that his touches caused. Albus lifted his arms and wrapped them around Scorpius' neck, letting one of his hands wind its way through the blond hair.

Scorpius pressed himself up against the boy under him, and was rewarded with a throaty groan from the Gryffindor. Albus' hands moved, and pushed Scorpius away for a moment. He was panting, his face was flushed and his lips were bright red. His expression was one of total shock, like he couldn't believe what was happening.

"You good?" Scorpius asked a moment later. Albus turned back and nodded, pulling the Slytherin close once again. Their lips met again, even more fiercely than before. Scorpius ran one hand down Albus' thigh, causing another shudder, and then brought it around and grabbed the boy's ass. The other hand was busy working its way under Albus' shirt, inching up the back rubbing against the soft bare skin. Albus was reacting better than Scorpius could have dreamed. His arms were firmly around the blonde's neck, he was pushing his body upwards in an attempt to bring it closer to Scorpius' and they were both loving the sensation that being so close was causing. Eventually Albus pushed away again, panting hard.

"You're good at this." Scorpius mumbled, running his lips down Albus' jaw.

Albus managed to sputter out a "thanks" before Scorpius attached his lips to the side of the boy's neck. Albus moaned involuntarily and tilted his head back allowing Scorpius better access to the tender skin. Scorpius bit and sucked, encouraged by Albus' hums of approval. After a few minutes he leaned back and admired the large red mark on the Gryffindor's neck.

Albus lifted his arm and ran his fingers through Scorpius' hair again, smiling sweetly. Scorpius felt like he was entranced by the green eyes below him, half lidded and so clearly begging for it. He wanted to do so much more, go so much farther. But no, he couldn't. Sighing, Scorpius pulled himself off of the Gryffindor and sat next to him. Albus propped himself up on his elbows and leaned over resting his head on the Slytherin.

"Scorpius." Albus said quietly.

Scorpius dreaded what was coming next, fearing that Albus was going to start asking questions that he didn't know the answer to. "Yeah?"

"I'm sleepy." Was the response.

Scorpius felt himself smile, he leaned over, and cupped Albus' face in his hand, giving him one last kiss, gentle and sweet. It was a sort of thank you, for not asking questions or making things complicated, or god forbid saying the L word.

"Alright, let's get out of here."

The two boys got up and walked down the stairs leaning on one another.

When Scorpius finally made it back to his dorm room he found Jaysen fast asleep. Climbing back into his own bed he felt himself quickly drifting to sleep, exhausted from his night and when sleep finally came, he dreamed of green eyes and garlic.


	15. Chapter 15

It was Saturday morning and Lily Potter was sitting, enjoying a nice breakfast in the Great Hall. She had slept in late that morning, enjoying her day off from classes. She was sitting with Abby and Lane. The three girls were discussing their plans for the day and Lane was complaining about the transfiguration essay that she hadn't started, when something distracted her. She cut off in the middle of her sentence and stared at something behind Lily. Turning, the youngest Potter looked and saw that her brother, Albus had entered the Great Hall. His eyes were looking around frantically and he had one hand clutching his neck. As soon as he spotted his sister Albus practically ran towards her.

"Lily!" He said, to get her attention, as if she hadn't been watching him approach.

"Albus, are you okay? You look a little crazy" Little was an understatement.

"I need your help." He said in a hushed tone, eyes glancing around nervously. Lily noticed Abby and Lane lean in; they could never pass up an opportunity for good gossip.

"Okay, what is it?" Lily asked patiently. Albus seemed to get more nervous, glancing and Abby and Lane as if they were going to attack him. After a moment, he took a deep breath and slowly moved his hand away from his neck.

"Oh," was all Lily could think to say. She immediately stood up. "I'll see you guys later," she said quickly before she scurried out of the Great Hall with Albus leading the way. Abby and Lane were left behind; eyes wide and mouths hanging open.

Twenty minutes later Albus and Lily were sitting on the floor in the back of the girl's lavatory.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Albus asked.

"Yes, now hold still." She grabbed his chin and tilted his head back and continued to rub a clear gel on his skin. As soon as it came in contact with his neck, the gel changed color to perfectly match his skin color. Currently Lily was about halfway done with covering up the largest hickey she had ever seen.

"I can't believe I'm wearing make up." Albus lamented.

"I can't believe I'm wasting my Medula's on you." She sighed. Medula's magical makeup was one of the most expensive witch's makeup brands out there. The cover up that she was currently slathering on her brother's neck was meant to hide any blemish. Pimples, scars and even freckles could be hidden. Of course that meant hickeys too, although Lily had never needed it for that purpose and she could never have guessed that she would ever be in the situation that she was currently in.

"There, she said, touching up the last few spots. Albus stood and examined his neck in the mirror. The skin was smooth and didn't look like it was covered in goo.

"Thanks Lily."

"Don't thank me yet. " Lily smiled, "I didn't do this for free, you have to give me all the dirty details."

Albus blushed, his make out session with Scorpius Malfoy was not something he felt comfortable discussing with his little sister, he had hardly come to terms with it himself. Then again, without Lily's face goo he would have been seriously screwed. He sat back down and recounted the events of the night before. Lily just sat there listening with a grin growing larger and larger on her face. When Albus finished they both just sat in silence, Lily still grinning widely.

"Stop smiling, you look creepy." Albus told her.

"I'm so proud of you," Lily said, smiling wider.

"Please stop," Albus frowned, "I don't even know what happened, what it means, or what the hell I'm doing."

"Well from the size of that hickey it looks like you know exactly what you are doing."

"Scorpius did that," Albus reminded her.

"But you clearly seduced him," Lily insisted.

"Yeah, because I just ooze seduction."

"Give yourself some credit," Lily smiled, "you obviously did something right."

"Maybe."

"I guess you'll know if he tried to get with you again." Lily decided. "Do you think he will?"

Albus thought back to the night before, and how amazing it had been. It was all he could think of. He kept remembering the feeling of the Slytherin's body and hands and lips.

Albus shuddered, "Merlin, I hope so."

* * *

><p>Wednesday afternoon Scorpius walked into his Care of Magical Creatures class both surprised and delighted to see Jaysen already sitting at their regular table, farthest from the front of the old classroom. He sat down next to his friend, not shocked when Jaysen turned and glared at him.<p>

"Hello mate." Scorpius greeted. Jaysen grunted in response. Jaysen hadn't spoken to Scorpius since he had run off from the astronomy tower the previous Friday night.

"I'm surprised you're here on time." Scorpius remarked.

"If I was tardy one more time the fat oaf was going to fail me." Jaysen mumbled, without making eye contact with the blond.

"I didn't tell anyone," Scorpius remarked. Jaysen glanced over nervously.

"Whatever." He finally responded.

Just then their professor lumbered into the class.

"Alrigh', quiet down. Yer all going to be listening to me today. Next time we'll be doin' a practical lesson with some centaurs who live in the Forest, but centaurs are very tricky fellows. This lesson will be about how to respectfully address and interact with the very proud race…"

At this point Scorpius zoned out. He glanced over to Jaysen whose eyes seemed to be glazing over as well.

"You missed quite the show when you rushed out on Friday." Scorpius whispered with a grin.

"I heard." Jaysen deadpanned.

"Who told you?" Scorpius asked, "Andy? Steph?" He had told everybody, it was no secret. He would have told Jaysen too, if Jaysen hadn't been ignoring him for five days.

"Albus did." Jaysen replied.

"What?" Scorpius asked a little too loudly.

"Boys?" Hagrid called, "Would you like to contribute something to our discussion on centaur mating rituals?"

"No professor," They chimed in unison.

"Then shut yer traps!" He bellowed.

They both fell silent for a moment, but Scorpius couldn't contain himself.

"What did he say?" Scorpius asked. Jaysen ignored him. That is, until Scorpius kicked him very hard in the shin under the table.

"Fucking bastard." Jaysen cringed. "He just said that you guys stayed up there awhile. Stephanie filled me in on all the details you supplied her with."

"That's really all he said?" Scorpius wondered.

"He told me that you haven't talked to him since." Jaysen muttered.

"Yeah, so?" Scorpius asked, defensive.

"Boys, I am not gonna tell you again, SHUT IT!"

The loud voice made both boys jump. They both nodded and had the decency to act ashamed.

A few moments later, " You should talk to him." Jaysen whispered so quietly Scorpius barely heard him.

"What?" Scorpius whispered back, "Why?"

Jaysen shook his head, "Because he likes you and you're being a git."

"I'm a git?" Scorpius couldn't believe his ears. "You're one to talk!"

"Thank you Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Villacrow for volunteering to clean the newt tanks after class." Both boys looked up to see their very large professor smiling sweetly at them. There was an evil gleam in his eyes.

Jaysen just turned to Scorpius and glared.

* * *

><p>Forty-five minutes later both boys were elbow deep in newt dropping and Merlin knew what else.<p>

"You're a git and I hate you." Jaysen said for the twentieth time that hour.

"Oh, give me a break." Scorpius sighed. He was already miserable enough.

Jaysen went back to the tank, ignoring the blond once again.

"You could have told me you know." Scorpius said after awhile. "About the tutoring I mean."

"So you could mock me ruthlessly? No thanks."

"I wouldn't have!" Scorpius retorted.

"Sure," Jaysen responded with an eye roll, "Because academic success is so high on your to-do list."

Scorpius huffed back, "Well I'm sorry you feel that way. But seriously Jaysen, none of us are geniuses, well except for Sully, but he's a freak."

This caused Jaysen to chuckle slightly, but after a moment he frowned.

"It's not the same." Jaysen sighed, "You're just lazy, school isn't hard for you, its just boring. You could be great if you really tried."

Scorpius didn't respond for a long time. His father had been telling him this for years and it even resembled what Albus Potter had told him before they kissed for the first time, but it wasn't something that Scorpius wanted to hear.

"Just promise, no more secrets," Scorpius finally responded.

"Just talk to Albus." Jaysen countered. The two boys stared at each other for a few moments before Scorpius finally caved.

"Fine."

Almost as if the words had been a summoning spell, not a minute later did the door of the old classroom open. Jaysen and Scorpius turned as none other than Albus Potter entered the room.

"What are you guys doing?" Albus asked, chuckling at the two boys, with their hands deep in dirty old tanks.

Scorpius shook his head.

"You have got to be kidding me."

* * *

><p>When Albus entered Hagrid's classroom he expected to see, well, Hagrid. He knew the teacher didn't have any classes at the moment, and he was hoping to have a nice chat with the old family friend. What Albus was not expecting was Jaysen and Scorpius to be sitting near the door, chatting and scrubbing newt poop.<p>

"What are you guys doing?" He asked, laughing slightly. The image was, after all, pretty hilarious.

Scorpius mumbled something inaudible and Jaysen face suddenly bloomed into the widest grin the Gryffindor had ever seen.

Casting a cleaning charm on his arms, Jaysen quickly grabbed his things and got up to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Scorpius asked furiously.

"I've had enough of this. If the oaf comes back tell him I got feces in my eye and was forced to rush off to the nurse." Then he leaned in closer to Scorpius and whispered something in French."

Scorpius shoved Jaysen away, with his still dirty hands. "Get out of here you big perv."

Jaysen laughed as he rushed out, sending Albus a wink on the way.  
>Once they were alone Scorpius cast a cleaning charm on his own arms and set the newt tanks off to the side. Albus stood near the door, watching him.<p>

"I didn't know that you spoke French." Albus finally said.

"I don't." Scorpius replied shortly.

"Then how did you-"

"They only time Jaysen says anything in French you can guarantee that it is perverted in nature. I'm convinced, in fact, that he has forgotten all French words that are not sexual innuendos of some sort."

"Oh…" Albus replied with a nervous chuckle. His mind was racing, thinking about what he had told Jaysen the past few days during their study sessions, and wondering how much of it the Slytherin had decided to share with Scorpius.

While he was pondering all of these things Albus was also aware that Scorpius had gotten up and was walking towards him.

"What are you doing here Albus?" Scorpius asked as he sauntered forward.  
>"I came to visit Hagrid."<p>

"Oh well Hagrid's not here right now."

"I can see that."

"It's just me." Scorpius continued.

"Should I consider that an improvement?" Albus taunted. A moment later he regretted it, when Scorpius pushed up against him, and pressed his back against the wall.

"You tell me." He whispered, and then he was sucking on Albus' ear. His teeth were biting at the Gryffindor's earlobe and his breath was hot and loud against the other boy's neck.

After a moment Albus relaxed, as he leaned into the touch.

Scorpius started kissing down his jaw line, tongue licking, and teeth nibbling, until he reached Albus' neck. All of a sudden he pulled away, his face distorted.

"Bleh, what is that?" He asked angrily.

Albus touched his neck where the blond had been kissing, confused. When he pulled his hand away, he saw a slight residue on his fingers. "Oh." He remembered.

"What?" Scorpius growled.

"It's um, makeup." Albus answered blushing.

"Why in the world are you wearing it?" Scorpius demanded.

"Because," Albus retorted haughtily, " I had to cover up the enormous hickey you left me last week."

Once the boy's words sunk in, Scorpius' anger quickly dissipated. He chuckled as he wiped the back off his hand along Albus' neck. The hickey started to reveal itself from underneath the makeup.

"Why are you hiding it?" He whispered leaning into Albus again.

Albus shuddered, trying to form words into sentences and speak them aloud.

"Be-because it's gross." He finally got out. Immediately he regretted his choice of words. Scorpius grinned.

"You sure about that?" He quickly turned Albus' neck the other direction and started attacking the opposite side, determined to leave another bite mark.

"Ahhh, Scorpius!" Albus begged, "Please don't."

"You don't want anyone to see it? Fine." The blonde's hands came up and unbuttoned the first few buttons of Albus' uniform. Pulling the shirt open he slowly trailed his kisses down the boy's neck to the top of his chest, and then continued his biting and kissing.

Albus just stood there, pressed up against the wall, unsure of what to do. Every bite was causing him to shiver uncontrollably. After a minute or two Scorpius pulled away, seemingly satisfied with his work.

"You taste so good." Scorpius remarked. Leaning in he captured Albus' lips in a quick kiss, just long enough to swipe tongues with the other boy. "What about me?"

Albus felt dizzy and hot, he barely thought about the next words before he replied, "You taste fantastic."

Scorpius smiled and leaned in again. Albus brought his arms up, and rested them on the Slytherin's shoulders. He closed his eyes as Scorpius pushed him harder into the wall and proceeded to snog the living day lights out of him.

Their lips moved furiously, desperately. Albus felt Scorpius' hands roam his back rubbing and grabbing. Eventually both hands rested on his lower back, pulling, and forcing their bodies closer together. Albus could feel Scorpius body pushed up against his. Albus leaned into the kiss even harder, pushing himself up slightly on his toes, so their faces could be closer together. His fingers gripped the blonde's shoulders even tighter.

"WHAT IN THE BOODY HELL-"

The two boys quickly pulled apart.

"Hagrid!" Albus cried. "I just came here to visit you, and Scorpius was here, and he was cleaning the newt tanks, and you weren't here but-"

Scorpius put a hand on his shoulder, signaling him to stop babbling.

"I was just leaving professor." He said coolly. He walked over to his desk, picked up his things and then walked back over towards the door, where Albus was still standing, shell-shocked.  
>"Friday night. Nine o'clock. Dungeons." He whispered. And then he left.<p>

An eerie silence filled the room once the door closed behind the Slytherin.

It only took a few seconds until Hagrid shouted. "MALFOY? YOU WITH BLOODY MALFOY!?"

"Hagrid!" Albus pleaded. "Keep your voice down."

"What in the world is goin' on?" He asked, still loudly, but without shouting.

"We-we just fancy each other is all." Albus replied, finding it hard to find the right words to say.

"Have you lost yer mind? What did yer dad say?"

"WHAT? Hagrid no! He doesn't know, you can't tell him!" Albus panicked. "What I mean is, um, it's sort of a secret."

Hagrid sighed, looking down at the boy that he had known from the day he was born. Hagrid always thought Albus was the smartest of his siblings, maybe even his whole family. Now he wasn't so sure.

"This's a bad idea Albus." Hagrid sighed sadly.

"It's really nothing," Albus said. "Don't worry." He finished lamely. Seeing the old man so upset really bothered him.

"You should go." Hagrid replied. "I don' feel much like visitors right now."

Albus couldn't keep the look of disappointment off of his face. "Right, of course."

Albus walked outside and closed the door behind him. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Hagrid's reaction had made him want to cry. What was wrong with him fancying Scorpius Malfoy? He was sixteen years old after all; he could snog whomever he pleased. With an affirmative nod, Albus decided to forget about Hagrid. He buttoned his shirt back up, and walked back towards the castle.


	16. Chapter 16

Hey everyone! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, I hope it is fun to read! Enjoy

* * *

><p>Albus Potter couldn't believe he was in the exact same situation <em>again<em>**. **Well, maybe not exact. Last time he had come to the Slytherin dorms he hadn't a clue what wall to speak the password too. Now, he did know where the entrance was, but had Scorpius bothered to give him the password? No, of course he hadn't, the stupid git.

A month ago, the password had been cottonmouth. Albus had tried it, along with all of the snake breeds he knew off the top of his head. The wall had remained, unfortunately, stationary.

Albus was just about to give up and head back to his dorm when he noticed a tiny girl walking towards him. She couldn't have been older than twelve, and she regarded him very nervously.

"Oh, hello." Albus greeted, trying to flash his friendliest smile. "I was hoping to get into the common room." He said pointing to the wall he had been standing in front of for half on hour.

"Albus Potter right?" The girl questioned, staring up at him.

"Right." Albus replied.

"The honorary Slytherin?" She said with a tiny smile on her face now.

"Oh, right. Yes, that's me." He had totally forgotten about the title Scorpius had bestowed upon him last time he had visited, but apparently it was common knowledge among the Slytherin students. This justification seemed enough for the girl. She walked over the wall and announced, "treacle toad". The wall opened and they both stepped inside.

The common room looked very different from his last visit. For one the room was brighter, there were a few fireplaces along the wall of the room, with couches and chairs in little half circles around them. The fires created a soft glow and lit up the faces of the people sitting around them. A few people turned and glanced his way, when he entered, but there was no mob like last time.

Albus looked down at the tiny girl he had entered with.

"Um, what was your name?" He asked awkwardly.

"I'm Elva." She replied.

"Well, Elva, do you know where Scorpius might be?" Albus really didn't like the idea of wandering the Slytherin common room, looking for someone he might know.  
>"I have an idea," she replied. Then she began to walk off without another word.<p>

Albus assumed he was supposed to follow her, so he did. They walked back into the farthest corner of the room, where there was a single fireplace, removed from all the others. Sitting around the fire were familiar faces. Wendy, Jaysen, Andrew, Sullivan, Tess, Stephanie and, of course, Scorpius, were all lounging on plush looking couches. Albus approached them slowly, and it was Tess who noticed him first.

"Albus!" She called loudly, even though he was only a few feet away. Everyone turned and greeted him, with large goofy smiles or giggles. It was only then that Albus noticed they were passing around a familiar pipe. So they were all smoking again. Great.

"Get outta here first year." Scorpius yelled, apparently noticing Elva.

"Hey, watch it." Albus called back, but Elva had already scampered away.

"What, you found yourself a girlfriend?" Andrew teased. "Isn't she a little young for you?"

"Yeah, also she's a girl." Jaysen sniggered.

"I thought you liked blondes." Scorpius added, beckoning the Gryffindor to come closer.

"Don't be mean," Albus responded as he walked into the circle of couches and stood in front of Scorpius. "She got me in here because _someone_ forgot to give me the password." He crossed his arms and sent a small playful glare at Scorpius who in returned grinned like an idiot.

"Oops."

"Aren't you going to say sorry?" Albus asked.

"I don't know what you've heard," Scorpius remarked, "But I never apologize to anyone."

"What I've heard, that is if I recall correctly, is you apologizing to me." Albus countered.

Everyone in the circle let out a low "ooooooohhhhh" showing that Albus had clearly won the argument. Scorpius rolled his eyes, annoyed by his friend's reaction. He then reached out, grabbing the Gryffindor's hands, and yanked the boy down to sit on the couch.

Albus blushed as he was literally pulled into Scorpius lap. He tried to move to sit next to the blond, but Scorpius held him there tightly.

"I think someone needs to loosen up." He purred into other boy's ear.

"Yeah, well what did you have in mind?" Albus asked. He realized after he said it, how sexual the whole conversation sounded. Then he remembered that he was currently straddling the object of all his affections, and blushed harder still. Scorpius hands roamed lower and lower on his back. Albus pushed himself off of Scorpius and moved to sit on the far end of the couch.

Scorpius laughed and the rest of the group couldn't help but smile at Albus' reaction.

"Don't know what you were thinking." Scorpius teased, "I was talking about smoking." He grabbed the pipe and passed it to Albus.

Albus didn't take it, or move at all. He was too embarrassed to do anything.

"Come on," Scorpius insisted, nudging the Gryffindor.

Albus glanced over. "What does it do?" He asked innocently.

Before Scorpius could even reply Albus interjected, "Oh that's right, it makes you mean and cruel and forces you to say terrible things to people that don't deserve it." As soon as Albus saw the surprised look on Scorpius' face he regretted his outburst. He had already forgiven the Slytherin for what he had done last time he was high, Albus knew he shouldn't have brought it back up.

Scorpius' face however, quickly shifted from surprise to humor. The rest of the group grew silent as they watched the two boys interact.

"Well you sure are… spirited today." Scorpius commented a moment later, taking a long drag from the pipe. "I'm sorry I forgot to tell you the password." Scorpius finally said. Then he handed the pipe to Albus with a smirk.

Sighing Albus took it and, putting the opening to his lips, breathed in long and slow. Equally as slowly he breathed back out, determined not to cough or wheeze.

"Look at that." Andrew said, "He's just like a pro."

Albus could feel the effects almost immediately. The tips of his fingers started to tingle, almost as if there was electricity running through them.

"So, how does it feel?" Tess questioned him.

"A little weird, I guess. Nothing much." Albus replied with a shrug. It sure didn't feel like he had expected, like some huge wave of enlightenment or some sudden divine voice speaking to him. That's what people made it out to be. But it was nothing more than a slight tingling in the fingers. Albus almost rolled his eyes. People liked to make such a big deal out of things.

The group watched him with curious eyes, and Albus stared back almost insolently, showing that although he was a lightweight drinker, wizard's weed had almost no effect on him.

"Looks like we're gonna need some more weed." Stephanie announced with a mischievous grin. She took the pipe and refilled it from a small bag that was on the floor. Once that was done she charmed it to stay lit and handed it back to Albus.

"Um, shouldn't we, like, pass it around?" The Gryffindor asked, suddenly nervous.

"Oh, no Albus, this is all for you. I think Scorpius was right, you need to loosen up." She delivered the last line with a wink that sent a chill down Albus' spine.

What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later Albus was, to say the very least, high. To say more he was hysterically laughing and standing on a couch, waving his shoes above his head trying to touch the ceiling.<p>

"Albus, sweetheart, you should get down." Wendy provided.

"But I want to go swimming!" Albus replied excitedly. "Why can't I go swimming?" He pouted.

"Albus, while I understand your desire to swim, trying to dig a hole through the ceiling of our common room into the lake with your shoes is just not a very good idea." Sullivan reasoned.

"Yeah, but it's right there!" Albus insisted, pointing directly above his head. "The lake is right above us!" Albus giggled excitedly.

"Albus if you dug a hole in the ceiling we'd all drown." Scorpius said, grabbing the boy's hand and forcing him to sit back down on the couch. Albus fell, sitting on Scorpius' lap, and looked at the blond with a worried expression.

"Oh, Scorpius!" He whined, "Don't you know how to swim? Don't worry I'll teach you!" He started to flap his arms around in circles, hitting Scorpius quite a few times in the face. Jaysen couldn't contain himself; he started laughing so hard that he fell off of his chair, hitting his head on the cement floor, which only caused him, and everyone else to laugh harder.

For everyone else the effects of the weed were starting to wear off, but for Albus they were in full force, and he had a stupid grin on his face that refused to be removed.

"Stop is Albus." Scorpius said gently, pulling the boys arms down to his sides.

"M'kay." Albus replied sweetly. "Thanks Scorpius." He said a moment later.

"For what?" The blond asked.

"For making me an honorary Slytherin." Albus giggled like crazy.

"You like being a Slytherin?" Andrew asked laughing at how childlike the Gryffindor had become.

"Sure do." Albus asserted, "You guys have a LAKE a above your common room. All Gryffindors have is air." Albus said air as if it was an awful thing, and then stuck his tongue out and made a farting noise so it was very clear how he felt about air.

Stephanie laughed loudly. "This is amazing. He's hilarious. We should have done this weeks ago."

Scorpius had to agree. Albus was a completely different person, and very entertaining. Smoking always made him very relaxed and tired. Albus was the exact opposite, he was energetic and animated and he said whatever was on his mind.

"Loooooooooooooooooongbottom." Albus announced suddenly. And then he threw his head back and cackled.

"What's so funny?" Jaysen asked, still lying on the floor.

"LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONGBOTTOM!" Albus repeated louder and then laughed even harder.

"Yeah what about him? Scorpius asked with a grin.

"His name is long-bottom." Albus said, as if it was a revolutionary thought, "Why is that his name?"

"Because he has a big nose." Scorpius replied. Albus looked at Scorpius with a smile, "I think he has a lovely nose."

Scorpius couldn't help but smile back. Albus' mood was contagious. Scorpius watched Albus as he started to argue with Sullivan about what kind of breakfast food was the best. Albus was valiantly fighting for eggs, while Sullivan sided with bacon.

Watching Albus made Scorpius smile even more. The way the boy's lips moved was mesmerizing, and the way his bright eyes glowed green in the firelight was the most beautiful thing Scorpius had ever seen. Every time Albus gestured or shifted in position he would brush against Scorpius, causing tingles to run all across the blonde's body.

After a while Scorpius became aware of Stephanie watching him watching Albus. She gave him a knowing wink, which confused Scorpius because he didn't even know what it was that she so knowing about.

"Albus!" Stephanie interjected suddenly. Sullivan looked disappointed that they would never discover which breakfast food was best, but Albus looked excitedly at her, practically bouncing in anticipation for what she was going to say.

"What do you think of Scorpius," She asked slyly. Scorpius frowned at her, having absolutely no idea what she was up to.

"Scorpius." Albus said the name slowly, and Scorpius couldn't deny the heat that spread through his body when he heard it. Or maybe it was the fact that the boy was currently bouncing on his lap.

"He's great." Albus said with an adorably affectionate smile. Then he turned to Scorpius and repeated, "You're great." In case the blond hadn't heard.

"What's so great about him?" Wendy asked, the same sly look on her face that Stephanie had. Scorpius still didn't really understand what was going on, but he couldn't deny he was enjoying the attention.

Albus grinned again, this time with a bit of a blush spreading across his cheeks. He leaned back and rested his head on Scorpius' shoulder. Then he stared up at the ceiling and spoke in a dreamy voice. "He's just so cool."

Wendy and Stephanie couldn't help but giggle at how love struck Albus looked.

"He's so handsome too." Albus continued, blushing even more, "And a really good kisser."

"Why thank you." Scorpius replied, feeling only slightly awkward that Albus was talking about him as if he wasn't there.

Albus turned to face the blond, their faces inches apart, "Am I a good kisser?" He asked with a slight frown.

"Yes, very good." Scorpius assured him. He reached up and ran his fingers through the boy's thick black hair. Albus hummed contentedly so Scorpius did it a second time.

"Good night." Albus yawned, and then he nuzzled his face down into Scorpius' neck and closed his eyes.

Scorpius felt himself soften a little as Albus cuddled into him. Cuddling wasn't really his strong suit but Albus looked so peaceful and he was so warm. Scorpius felt his own eyelids get heavy, urging him to rest his head on top of the Gryffindor's and sleep.

"Eh-hem." Someone cleared their throat loudly. Scorpius looked up irritably.

"He can't sleep here." Andrew pointed out. Scorpius glared at his best friend, as if the whole situation could be blamed on him.

"Alright, alright." Scorpius finally said. He lifted his arms, to slowly push the boy currently sleeping on him to the upright position. Albus' eyes flickered open in the process.

"Wha- wha's going on." He mumbled.

"It's bed time." Stephanie told him.

"Oh good." Albus said, trying to lie back down.

"Oh no you don't." Scorpius said, grabbing Albus before he could lie back down. "You have to go back to your own dorm."

Albus stared up at Scorpius, looking like he was about to cry.

"But-but i's so far." Albus whined, "An' I'm sleepy." He reasoned.

"I know, I know." Scorpius said, pulling them both to their feet.

"Scorpius will go with you." Tess said with a large smile.

"What?" Scorpius cried. "Why me?"

"You invited him." Sullivan pointed out. "Plus, you two look like you could use some alone time." Everyone seemed to find this amusing, which only made Scorpius angry.

Scorpius glared at Sullivan, "Fine."

They said their goodbyes, which in Scorpius' case was just standing off to the side as Albus went around and hugged everyone and told them how much he would miss them.

When they finally left the common room and made their way into the hallway the two boys fell into silence.

Suddenly Scorpius felt a warm hand envelop his.

"What are you doing?" He asked Albus, slightly amused.

"You have nice hands." Albus replied happily.

Scorpius laughed at the ridiculous Gryffindor, "You too." He wondered if Albus would remember any of this in the morning. And how embarrassed he would be if he did. Scorpius smiled at the thought of Albus' blushing embarrassed face. It was one of his favorite expressions. When Albus' face was red, his eyes downcast, maybe biting on his lower lip. Scorpius groaned, wanting to see that face in that very moment.

He quickly let go of Albus' hand, and instead pushed him up against the nearest wall. Towering over the other boy, Scorpius put his hand under the boy's chin and lifted his face until their lips were inches apart. He looked down, surprised to see that Albus' face was embarrassed at all. His eyes were staring intensely back at Scorpius, and his lips were spread in a cocky little grin.

"You want something?" Albus purred quietly. Scorpius felt Albus' hands, tugging on his shirtfront, pulling them closer together.

"What is it Scorpius, what do you want?" Albus purred again. Scorpius couldn't contain himself. Embarrassed Albus might be cute, but this Albus, was turning him on big time. He pressed himself up against the other boy, and captured his lips in a fierce kiss.

Gliding his hands down the Gryffindor's back he slid one hand under the top of Albus' pants, reaching down, and squeezing the boy's bare ass hard.

Albus groaned faintly, and in response lifted one of his legs, wrapping it around the taller boy's waist. Scorpius could feel himself getting hard.

For a moment he wondered if he was doing the right thing. Albus wasn't exactly in the right state of mind, or thinking very clearly. Maybe he should calm down and take the boy back to his dorm instead of assaulting him in the corridor. Right about then, Albus ground his hips against Scorpius again, and the Slytherin decided, fuck it. Albus was asking for it. He leaned down and again captured Albus' lips in a fierce kiss, this time forcing his tongue into the other boy's mouth and snogging him thoroughly.

At least that was what he tried to do until Albus started laughing hysterically. Quickly Scorpius pulled back and detached himself from the boy.

Albus continued to laugh, getting louder and louder.

"Albus, shhhhhh!" Scorpius whispered frantically. "Someone will hear!"

"Ah-haha-sorry." Albus giggled, trying to quiet himself.

"What the hell?" Scorpius asked, having no idea what could be so hilarious to the boy, when they had been in the middle of what Scorpius considered a really hot make-out session.

"The worm!" Albus whispered with a grin, and then continued to giggle.

"The what?" Scorpius asked, looking around, but seeing nothing, definitely no worms.

"You put a worm in my mouth." Albus laughed, "It felt so funny."

Scorpius looked at the boy incredulously for a moment before understanding dawned on him, "You mean my tongue?"

"It was all wet and slimy and it was wiggling around." Albus couldn't help but start laughing again. "It felt so funny."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. He now knew the steps of a high Albus Potter. First came energetic, then completely exhausted, then horny, then hysterical. Maybe next time they would just stick to whiskey.

"Let's just go." He sighed. Dragging a still giggling Albus Potter down the corridor Scorpius decided that the young Potter was turning out to be more trouble than he was worth.

* * *

><p>Almost an hour later Stephanie, Sullivan and Wendy were still waiting for their friend to return. Andrew and Tess had disappeared a little while ago, and Jaysen not long after.<p>

When Scorpius finally appeared through the entrance to the common room Stephanie had let out a loud catcall.

Scorpius looked surprised and not at all happy that his friends had stayed up waiting for him.

"Well look who finally decided to come back home." Wendy said with a suggestive eyebrow raise.

"So, how was it?" Stephanie asked excitedly.

"I don't want to talk about it." Scorpius replied with a glare.

"Oh no you don't. Scorpius Malfoy I waited an hour for this story and I want to hear it!" Stephanie insisted.

Scorpius looked like he was going to yell, his eyes flared angrily but he voice came out controlled and quiet. "I'm going to bed."

"Scorpius!" Stephanie yelled, "Don't make me-"

"HE FORGOT THE PASSWORD" Scorpius roared, cutting off what Stephanie was about to say.

"Huh?" Everyone looked up in surprise at Scorpius' outburst, having no idea what it meant.

"The password! For his common room! He couldn't fucking remember it. I had to stand there for forty-five minutes as he tried hundreds. At one point he was convinced it was the name of a pope so he recited them. ALL OF THEM! He recited all of the popes names! He can bloody remember the names of all the popes back to the 4th century, but he couldn't fucking remember one goddamn password." Scorpius continued to rant. "I can't believe I APOLOGIZED to him for forgetting to give him our password. He couldn't even remember his own."

"What happened?" Sullivan asked, after Scorpius had finished.

"The damn fat lady finally let him in." Scorpius grumbled.

"So you didn't get any?" Wendy pouted.

"Fuck you Wendy." Scorpius practically spat.

"Well I sure didn't stay up and wait to hear this." She grumbled, "I wanted dirty details." With that she stood up and walked back to the staircase that led up to the girls dorm.

"I'm going to bed." Scorpius grumbled.

"Oh, don't be so cranky." Stephanie said, standing and ruffling his hair. "You and Albus were adorable earlier, bickering and cuddling almost like a real couple. I can tell you really like him." Steph smiled, " and I'm sure you'll get some eventually." She added with a wink.

Scorpius was not amused. "You've been spending too much time with Wendy. You're getting stupid. I don't like him, not at all. He's just my latest entertainment. He's fun to tease."

"I think you're spending too much time with Andrew. You're getting stupid." Stephanie replied.

"What the hell does that mean?" Scorpius demanded.

Stephanie didn't reply, she simply gave Scorpius a kiss on the cheek and said good night to both him and Sullivan.

Once she had disappeared Scorpius turned to Sullivan.

"Girls are too bloody emotional, trying to turn anything into a fucking love story."

Sullivan gave his friend a pitying look. "You know, it's pretty obvious to all of us that you are attracted to Albus. In fact you look like an idiot when you deny it all the time." Without another word Sullivan walked up the stairs, leaving Scorpius alone.

He felt like he couldn't move. Everyone thought he was crazy for Albus Potter? Seriously? Had they forgotten that this was supposed to be a prank? Sure, he had thought Albus looked appealing tonight, and maybe he had gotten a little turned on, but that was because he had been ridiculously high at the time. Plus, he was a teenage boy! Anything that rubbed up against him made him hard. It wasn't as if Albus was special or different from the rest of the girls he had messed around with. Scorpius could not figure out why his friends didn't see that.

"I guess I'll just have to make them see." Scorpius said to himself.


	17. Chapter 17

Hello all. I'm whipping this chapter out late night style because I just got pretty much the best review ever. Now, I usually don't do this but… thanks Pinkfurball! You rock.

Now, hold up. I know the rest of you are like, woah, I've reviewed, why no props for me? Don't get me wrong, I love you too. But so far no one has spoken a word of praise for my budding owl romance side story. I know you are all here for the Al/ Scor drama, but please let us not forget Aurora and Mirzam the star crossed lover-owls. Al/Scor stories are rampant and many are FAR better written then mine but I dare you to find better owl romance then I have created. (I've never actually searched for Hedwig fanfiction, so I cant even be certain about this claim)

Keep reviewing guys. (and girls) (and owls) (leprechauns?)

Naw, for real I'm just updating cuz I'm on summer vacation with a six hour plane ride home.

But the review was very nice regardless.

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><p>The few weeks prior to Christmas break were always a very exciting time for the students of Hogwarts. The entryway was always lined with big proud firs decorated with sparkling tinsel, beautiful crystal figurines, large colorful orbs and even a few strands of popped corn. The dinners leading up to vacation became more elaborate and delicious as the house elves practiced the dishes to be served at the Christmas feast for the students who would be staying over the holidays. Christmas carols could be heard in every corridor; whether it was the ghosts loudly proclaiming good tidings, or an enchanted suit of armor humming well-known favorites. To put it simply, anticipation was in the air.<p>

However thoughts of Christmas were not the only thing buzzing through the hallways this particular season. One name was being passed around, whispered during class, and gossiped about during meals. Albus Potter.

It had finally been leaked that the youngest Potter boy had spent a few nights in the Slytherin common room. His roommates would tell anyone who asked about the night the boy had coming home unashamedly high, from what they could only assume was a night with the Slytherins. Even harder to believe than the rumors was the actual evidence. Sullivan Bole sat next to Albus in three of the classes they shared. The two boys seemed rather close, and chatted casually throughout lessons. Wendy Damille invited Albus on two separate occasions to eat lunch at the Slytherin table, both times Albus hesitantly accepted. Stephanie Blanc and Tess Burke had taken Albus to Hogsmeade with them one Saturday morning and forced the poor boy to run around shopping with them all day. Even Andrew Chen nodded at Albus in the hallway. A few times students even swore he said 'hey'. However the strangest rumor of all was the claim that Jaysen Villacrow had been seen with Albus Potter studying in the library. Students who swore to have seen the miracle with their own eyes were promptly escorted by friends to the infirmary to get their heads checked.

Regardless of the validity of the details, the truth remained, Albus Potter, outcast of the Gryffindor house, bookish loner , and alleged queer had weaseled his way into the elite group of Slytherins; Scorpius Malfoy's posse.

* * *

><p>"Albus!" Rose yelled down the main hall as she saw her cousin go by. He stopped, as did the people he was walking with who Rose recognized as Tess Burke and Stephanie Blanc.<p>

"Oh hey Rosie!" Albus smiled broadly as she approached.

"I was hoping I could talk to you." Rose responded, "Alone." She added giving a wary glance in the direction of the two Slytherin girls.

Stephanie smirked at the redhead and waved to Tess, "Come on, lets go back to the common room." The two girls walked away.

"What's up?" Albus asked, confused about the secrecy.

"Were you hanging out with Burke and Blanc again?" Rosie asked, clearly frustrated.

"You mean Tess and Steph? Yeah, I was." Albus was confused, "Why is that a problem for you?"

"You went to Hogsmeade with them last weekend." Rosie huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at her cousin.

"Yes." Albus deadpanned, having no clue why he was being reprimanded.

"We were supposed to go together!" Rosie finally replied, adding an extra huff at the end.

Albus was silent for a moment, trying to recall any memory of Rose inviting him to Hogsmeade.

"You never asked me to go with you." Albus finally said cautiously.

"Well I was GOING TO! I looked for you that morning in the Great Hall, but you had already left!"

Albus couldn't help but chuckle at how crazy his cousin sounded, almost like an overbearing wife.

"So you are mad at me because I made plans to hang out with friends, when you hadn't even asked me yet?" Albus snorted, "Is that really why you are mad?"

"I didn't have anyone to go with Albus! We always go together!" Rosie cried.

"Um, very untrue Rosie. You always went with Jeremy, and you never invited me. So sorry if I don't want to be your last resort!" Albus fired back at her.

Immediately after his outburst, Albus regretted it. He watched tears well up in his cousin's eyes, and heard her stifle a sob.

"Shit… I'm sorry Rosie. I didn't mean it."

"I-I know I can't get back together with him. N-not after what he d-did to you." She choked out. "But every time I s-see him he begs me to come b-back to him, and I just c-cant take it anymore. I m-miss him and I know I shouldn't, but I just can't help it." She sobbed as Albus wrapped his arms around her.

"Shhh," Albus whispered, "It's gonna be okay." Inside he felt awful. He couldn't remember the last time he had talked to his cousin about what she was going through. Her break up was basically his fault. Ok, wait, no, it was definitely Jeremy's fault. But Albus had been a large part of it.

Albus held his cousin until she had calmed down. When she stopped crying they separated. Albus couldn't stop the waves of guilt that cascaded over him with he saw his best friend's tearful expression. Albus had been so busy worrying about his own problems he had completely ignored Rosie.

"Next time I promise I will go to Hogsmeade with you." Albus said. Rose gave a small smile but Albus could tell it wasn't genuine.

"What is it?" Albus prodded.

"Do you even need me anymore?" Rose asked quietly. "You have so many popular new friends now." She said with a slightly venomous tone.

"Rose!" Albus was shocked. "I like hanging out with Tess and Steph fine, but there is no way they are ever going to replace you. You're my best friend!"

"What about Sullivan, and Wendy, and Jaysen, and Andrew and Scorpius!" She spat out the last name with particular malice, and Albus didn't miss it.

"Rose, you come before all of them, I swear it." Albus assured, "I've never had so many friends before. For once in my life I'm not lonely at this school."

Now it was Rosie's turn to look ashamed. "That's not what I meant Albus." She quickly reassured. "I'm happy you made friends. I guess, I just don't know what you see in them."

"Something I often say about your friends as well." Albus reminded her.

"Let's not worry about it right now." He added a moment later, realizing he did not want to start a fight. "Lunch?" He offered, and the two walked off together into the Great Hall.

* * *

><p>The fire was burning low in the common room fireplace, it was late and most students had gone to bed, however one boy was still in the common room reading. Albus Potter was having trouble reading his book in the dim lighting of the fire. He was considering adding some more logs, or perhaps casting a lumos charm when the book in his hands was forcibly removed.<p>

"Hello James." Albus sighed, after a quick glance up.

"We need to talk." James said in the voice he used when he was trying to imitate their father.

"Well take a seat, we have all night." Albus responded stretching out his legs. "What do you want to discuss? Are you having girl troubles? Or is it about the crushing defeat the Harpies faced in their match last week. I know they were your favorite team; you bet them to go to the world cup didn't you? That had to have been hard. How many galleons did you lose?"

"I'm here to talk about you apparently being an honorary Slytherin." James ground out, clearly unhappy with saying the words.

"And where on earth did you hear that?" Albus asked, sounding shocked.

"That Trey Graves. He's a prefect for Slytherin. I heard him say it to a few of his friends at the last prefects meeting."

"Ah, Trey." Albus smiled, "Good guy. Did you know his first name is actually Merton?"

"I honestly don't give a shit!" James burst out. "Is it true?"

"James I really don't think a student can be in a house with an honorary position. You're head boy, shouldn't you know that?"

"Albus, I know you think you're being funny, but you're just being an idiot." James finally yelled out. "What the hell do you think you're doing, hanging out with Slytherins like Malfoy? They're all no good wannabe death eaters and everybody knows it."

Albus stiffened at the word death eater, horrified that his brother had thrown it out so casually to describe his friends.

"Are you even listening to me?" James yelled again.

"If I recall correctly," Albus shot back, "When I was a first year I remember someone taunting me that I would be sorted into Slytherin. Then when I was sorted into Gryffindor, spreading rumors that I wanted to be in Slytherin. Probably that's why people think I'm an honorary Slytherin now. Probably that's why I get along with Slytherins so much." Albus shot the words at his brother. "Who was that James, who spread those rumors about me? Can you remember who it was?"

The room became silent.

"I can." Albus spat out.

Snatching his book back the younger Potter climbed the stairs out of the common room, and out of sight.

* * *

><p>"ALBUS!"<p>

Moment after hearing the loud outburst Albus felt himself being lifted off of the ground and crushed in a large hug.

"AN A! I GOT AN A!"

Albus recognized the voice as Jaysen's, and once he was put back on the ground, he turned to see the boy sporting the largest smile possible.

"I got an A on the last astronomy exam! I PASSED! My professor said if I keep this up next term then I will be done with astronomy, FOREVER!" Jaysen grabbed Albus and pulled him into another hug.

"Thank you so much Albus! My parents are going to be so happy about this, I wont even have to buy them Christmas gifts!"

"What's going on over here?" Andrew walked over, having heard the commotion Jaysen had made in the middle of the hall.

"Passed an astronomy exam." Jaysen informed his friend proudly.

"You? I cant fucking believe it!" Andrew laughed.

"He's been working really hard!" Albus supplied, " He's studying a lot."

"No shit!" Andrew exclaimed, grabbing his friend by the shoulders. "Well congrats man, we gotta celebrate. I think we left some fire whiskey in the woods a couple days ago."

"Wicked. Albus, you wanna come?" Jaysen asked.

Albus couldn't believe his ears. "Guys, I have class. We all have class!"

Both boys burst out laughing. A few moments later they quieted. "Oh you were serious." Andrew answered.

The two boys jut shrugged and walked off, leaving an appalled Albus Potter behind.

"But-but guys!" He yelled after them, "It's 10 AM! GUYS! IT'S A TUESDAY!"

* * *

><p>The last week before vacation Albus was very shocked to see his owl glide down and drop him a letter. Moments later the owl landed softly on his shoulder, nipping Albus lightly until the boy fed him bits of toast.<p>

Unfolding the letter that had been dropped down in front of his Albus immediately recognized the tidy handwriting of his brother Teddy, and ripped open the envelope.

_Albus-_

_I realize it has been a while since I last wrote, and that you will be home in about a week. I'm very excited to see you over the holidays! I will be spending the vacation at your parents house, so I'm sure we will find lots of time to talk, as I am sure we have lots to talk about. The Hogwarts rumor mill doesn't stop at the castle walls you know._

_I also have some exciting news. And, well I'm very excited about it. I sound like an idiot, forgive me. I don't want to give anything away though. You'll know soon enough._

_I hope you are well, and that you have already bought me a large and expensive gift._

_All my love_

_-Teddy._

At the bottom of the parchment there was another message scribbled.

_Letter has been ready all week. Damn owl still won't take it. Not my fault!_

Albus chuckled and glanced up at Mirzam, who was happily munching on some buttered toast and looking very, very content.

"Don't look so proud of yourself." Albus whispered to the bird. "You weren't the only one who got some while you were away."

Mirzam, who had finished his toast, turned his head to look at Albus, and started letting out tiny hoots. It took Albus a moment to realize, his owl was laughing at him!

"I'm serious!" Albus said. But Mirzam kept hooting softly as he took flight and soared out of the Great Hall.

Albus glared at the retreating figure, "Damn bird." He muttered.

* * *

><p>"It's your move Albus… Albus…ALBUS!"<p>

"What?"

Albus and Drew were currently sitting in the Great Hall playing a rousing game of wizard's chess, at least they were trying. Albus was finding it very hard to pay attention.

"Can you please play? Or at least tell me what's got you so distracted." Drew snapped.

Lily, who had sat down next to them, pulled her head up from her latest issue of Witches Weekly.

"Obviously he's staring at Scorpius and that girl he's all over."

"Shut up Lily!" Albus hissed, glaring at his sister.

"Well you are." She retorted, going back to reading her magazine.

Albus looked nervously back over at Drew.

"Really? Scorpius?" Drew raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Albus asked.

"I saw that big hickey on your neck, when you ran out of the room that morning. I know you've been fooling around with someone. And to be honest I kinda guessed it was Malfoy, but I was really hoping I was wrong."

Albus was speechless. Sure, him and Drew were friends. They hung out often ever since the…incident with Jeremy and Ian. However, they weren't together enough for the boy to have guessed about Scorpius. Was Albus really that obvious?

"He's with different girls every week Al. I don't know why you're surprised." Drew stated unsympathetically.

"I know." Was all Albus could respond with.

"Well, in that case, can we please finish our game?"

"Sure." Was what Albus replied. What he wanted to do however was walk over to the Slytherin table and rip the hair right off the head of the girl currently cuddling up to Scorpius.

Albus was trying his best to not panic, but the truth was he had no idea where he stood with Scorpius. The last time Scorpius had a conversation with him was in the Slytherin common room before they had all smoked. That night was hazy at best, he remembered bits and pieces. For example he remembered falling asleep on Scorpius' shoulder, and telling the Slytherin he thought he was a good kisser. But, the next morning he woke up in his bed, without any recollection of how he had gotten there.

Albus had pieced together from asking the other Slytherins for details, that Scorpius had walked him back to dorm, and that he had forgotten his password.

Ever since, Scorpius had ben distant and cool as ever. Obviously something happened between them that Albus couldn't remember and he was too afraid to ask Scorpius about it. Ever since that night, Albus had never seen Scorpius without at least one girl attached to him. Albus had stopped going to the Slytherin common room as well, afraid of seeing Scorpius give those girls what he so desperately wanted.

He couldn't deny how jealous he was of the attention that so many girls were getting from Scorpius. At the same time though, he knew this was reality. Scorpius was promiscuous, and Albus had known from the first kiss that he was nothing special to the Slytherin. His head knew it; his heart just hadn't quite gotten the message.

Albus was about to put Drew's king in check when hands suddenly covered his eyes.

"Guess whooooo?" He heard a light voice giggling from behind him.

"Hello Stephanie." He replied. The hands were removed, and Stephanie sat down next to the Gryffindor.

"You're good at that." She laughed.

"No," Albus retorted, "You are just the only girl who still does the 'covering the eyes, guess who it is thing'."

"Oooh, someone's a grumpy Gryffindor today," she smirked.

"Three guesses why." Lily chimed in, pointing a finger over at the Slytherin table.

Stephanie turned and reacted an instant later, "Magdalena Puce? Ugh, he's really scraping the bottom of the barrel now." Stephanie turned to Albus to explain. "She's awful." Was the only description he received. Part of him wanted to prod for more dirty details, but his pride wouldn't allow it. He shrugged as if it didn't bother him at all. Lily rolled her eyes behind her magazine.

"While we are on the topic of Scorpius however, I have an invitation for you."

After hearing her words Albus' ears perked, "An invitation?"

"Yep, to a Christmas party at his house. We have it every year. It's just the seven of us, well eight now." Stephanie smiled, "You've heard the rumors right, your one of us now."

"Well I'm glad everyone else seems so sure. Did Scorpius actually tell you to invite me?" Albus asked.

"Yes of course, why?"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe because he's been giving me the cold shoulder for the past 3 weeks."

"Oh that?" Stephanie laughed, "He's just being an asshole. It comes from being raised as a ridiculously wealthy only child. Tantrums are just a part of his personality."

Albus sighed, but didn't respond. Instead he played a few more turns in his chess game. He already knew how he was going to beat Drew, but was prolonging it for entertainment's sake.

Stephanie finally butted back in.

"Albus, please tell me that you will come. We'll have fun I promise, we always do. I know Scorpius wants you there. Plus, don't you want to see the Malfoy Manor? I'll even show you Scorpius' room." Stephanie laughed when she noticed how red Albus got.

"I'll take that as a yes."

A moment later Albus noticed Scorpius stand up. Magdalena Puce got up with him, and latched her self to his arm so tightly Albus was concerned it might fall off. Albus watched carefully as the two left the Great Hall, but Scorpius never once glance their direction. When they were out of sight Albus let out a sigh.

"Al, if you're not going to take this game seriously, then let's just stop." Drew announced, clearly frustrated.

Albus glanced down at the board and rolled his eyes. He moved his queen two spaces to the left.

"Check mate."

* * *

><p>Sorry about the crackish AN. Air travel does strange things. Hope you all enjoyed!


	18. Chapter 18

TADA! Love me again!

* * *

><p>The loud whistle of the Hogwarts Express signaled the last call for boarding. Students bustled around, moving up and down the hallway, finding cabins and wishing friends happy holidays.<p>

"Come on! Rosie! The train is leaving!" Albus had to pull Rose away from the group of girls she was talking to. "Were never going to find a compartment now." Albus complained as they made their way onto the train. Walking past the first few cars and seeing no places to sit Albus glanced back at his cousin, as if to say, 'I told you so'.

"We can just sit with the rest of the sixth year Gryffindors." Rosie suggested.

"You mean MY terrible room mates, and YOUR annoying friends. I'd rather not." Albus sighed. He was really hoping the beginning of holidays would be a chance to get away from the people who despised him.

"Well I just don't think we have many more options." Rosie stated. Just as Albus was about to resign to a 5 hour train ride in awkward silence he heard a voice call out his name from behind him.

"You are always welcome in our compartment." Albus turned and saw Stephanie poking her head out of a sliding door a few feet behind him.

"No, sorry." Rose glared, not sounding sorry at all, "Albus and I promised to ride the train back together."

Stephanie put on her biggest smile and responded, "Well that doesn't seem very fair does it? You get to see Albus all the time during break, and we wont get to see him for two whole weeks, all we want is to share our last few hours together."

Albus thought about mentioning that he would see them over the vacation if he went to the Christmas party she had told him about, but decided to keep quiet.

Rose looked over at him with concern, clearly divided on what to do.

"She's right Rose, I'll see you loads over break, go sit with Amy and Grace." He smiled comfortingly. Rosie frowned, but eventually nodded and walked away.

* * *

><p>When Albus stepped into the Slytherin compartment he noticed that it was already full to capacity. Six students usually fit comfortably in a compartment, and now there were eight. Tess was seated happily on Andrew's lap, which helped a little, but there was really no open room for Albus. That was until Scorpius scooted out of the way to make room. The blond hadn't even looked at Albus in the last two weeks so this kind gesture was both unexpected and greatly appreciated. Albus took a seat between Scorpius and Wendy. It was a tight squeeze, and it kind of felt like Wendy was pushing on him, forcing him closer to Scorpius, but Albus tried to ignore it.<p>

"I saved him from the red-haired troll." Stephanie laughed. "She was wary to give him up, but I won in the end."

"I wish you wouldn't call her that." Albus replied, although it was half hearted.

"She's a leech Albus." Tess retorted, "Thinks she owns you, it's disgusting."

"Yeah, we deserve time with you too." Jaysen added.

"Now's a good time, because my family is obsessed with holidays, they wont give me a moment away during Christmas." Albus complained, "We are having Christmas at our house this year too, which means at least thirty guests staying with us. I wont have a second to myself."

"But you're still coming to the Christmas party aren't you?" Scorpius asked him, looking slightly alarmed.

Albus wanted to immediately assure Scorpius that of course he would make it to the party. However, Scorpius had given him the cold shoulder for a few weeks and Gryffindors do not forget so easily.

"Christmas party?" Albus asked coyly. "Was I invited to that?" He tapped his chin as if trying to remember. He saw Stephanie smile.

"Don't play dumb Potter," Scorpius replied coolly, "I had Stephanie invite you."

"Why Scorpius, I would never dare accept an invitation to a party unless it was given to me by the host." Albus said sounding offended, "How impolite."

Scorpius looked at Albus, trying to gauge if the boy was serious or not. Albus stared back defiantly until finally Scorpius rolled his eyes and sighed. Then he unexpectedly rose from his seat. Standing in front of Albus he cleared his throat loudly.

"I, Scorpius Malfoy, do formally invite you, Albus Potter, to a Christmas celebration hosted by myself, at the place of my residence on December 23rd beginning at eight in the evening and ending when we all pass out drunk. Do you accept? "

By the end of the speech half the cabin had started laughing, and Albus had to stop himself from blushing.

" I accept." He responded with a small smile, and Scorpius, looking satisfied sat back down again.

Wendy grinned, "Well now that that's settled…"

* * *

><p>Albus had never had so much fun on the Hogwarts express in his life. They told stories and jokes, laughed and yelled, and ate as much off the trolley as they could. Albus also couldn't help but noticed the way that Scorpius kept glancing over at him and grinning. When the train finally pulled to a grinding halt, Albus was perfectly content staying where he was.<p>

Letting out a quiet sigh, Albus grabbed his bag and said his goodbyes as he left the train. As much as he would have liked to spend more time with his friends, stepping off the Hogwarts Express with a group of notorious Slytherins would have been enough to give his family a heart attack. He needed to ease his parents into the idea of his being friends with a Malfoy if he was ever going to get them to agree to letting him go to Scorpius' Christmas party.

As soon as he stepped onto the platform he heard a voice call, "Albus!"

Looking in the direction of the voice, he grinned and rushed towards his mother and threw his arms around her in a huge hug.

Ginny Potter held her youngest son tight, pleased to see that he looked a lot happier now than he had when they said their goodbyes in September.

Next Albus turned to his father and wrapped him in a hug as well. Albus looked around and noticed that the rest of his family members, were already here. This was only confirmed when his uncle Ron clapped him on the shoulder and asked, "We've been waiting for you Albus, what took you so long?" His voice was light and full of jest so Albus just responded with "Hello uncle Ron." Giving a quick hug to his aunt Hermione as well, the Potters and Weasleys left the station together, and the children all piled into the back of a couple of beat up looking cars. Harry got into the driver's seat of one while Albus and his siblings watched their aunt and uncle fighting over who got to drive the second car.

Albus' aunt Hermione, just like his own father, was raised with muggles and knew a lot more than her husband about muggle contraptions. Uncle Ron was fighting back, claiming that he had driven cars before and it wasn't as difficult as she was making it sound. Hermione shot back with something about a Ford Anglia. Ron turned very red and glaring at his wife, walked to the other side of the car and got in the passengers seat.

Albus and his family were laughing at the couple's antics. He glanced over at his sister sitting next to him and noticed that she was grinning, not at their aunt and uncle, but at him.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Albus asked feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"Did you have a good train ride?" She asked pleasantly, but still holding onto her knowing smirk.

"Fine." Albus shifted in his seat nervously. Lily wouldn't bring it up now, would she? In the middle of the car ride home?

To his relief a moment later she changed the subject and began to tell their mother about her first term and all the noteworthy things that had gone on.

For the rest of the car ride Harry and Ginny grilled their three children for details about the school year and how their final exams had gone.

Albus threw in a response when he was asked a question directly but for the most part stayed silent.

As soon as they reached home, Albus threw open the door and raced up to his room. The Potters lived in a large victorian style house in the middle Godric's Hollow, a quaint old neighborhood that housed a good number of witch and wizard families. As soon as he stepped into his house Albus felt as happy as could be. He loved his house, with it's rickety floorboards, shelves stuffed with books and strange objects. He knew when ever he entered that this was a place he belonged completely. He ran up the stairs, into his room and flopped down on the bed. Taking in a deep breath he smelled his sheets and sighed, it felt good to be home.

A few minutes later he heard a knock on the door.

"Alby, your grandparents are coming to dinner tonight. Also Ron and Hermione and the kids. They'll be here in about an hour, so start getting ready."

Albus grunted out a response, before disappointedly raising himself off the bed. Glancing at himself in the mirror, he realized that he did look kind of a mess. He could use a long shower, and a change of clothes as well.

Leaving his room he made his way to the bathroom that he shared with his two siblings.

James was already in the bathroom, putting away things he brought home from school when Albus entered.

"Get out, I'm taking a shower." Albus said. James walked towards the door, but instead of leaving, he closed it, trapping them both inside.

"What are you doing James?" Albus asked, extremely confused.

"Are you gonna tell mom and dad?" James questioned, turning around to look at his brother.

"Tell mom and dad what?" Albus asked.

"That you're gay." James answered, crossing his arms. Albus' face turned bright red and he started sputtering.

"H-how on earth could I t-tell them that?" He stammered. "There's no way!"

"Lily and I already talked about it Albus, you have to do it and it has to be soon. Might as well be at dinner tonight, when the whole family is there."

"NO WAY." Albus yelled. Then realizing that their parents might hear, he lowered his voice, "James you can't tell them, you have to let me do it."

"I will let you do it." James insisted, "As long as you hurry up."

And with that he opened the door and walked out.

Albus slammed and locked the door behind his brother, suddenly feeling very frantic and breathing very heavy. What was he going to do?

* * *

><p>A few hours later the Potter house was anything but peaceful, Grandma and Grandpa Weasley were busy doting on all their grandchildren that they hadn't seen in months. After dinner was over they all piled into the sitting room, transfigured some tables into extra sitting chairs, and started to talk.<p>

Harry and Ron talked about their work at the ministry for a while until Grandma Molly told them to shut up.

"I could care less about stupid politics and protocols." She shouted to them after a while, "I want to hear about my babies."

So Rosie started, she talked about her classes, her favorite things that she learned and then about how she thought her exams went.

Then James jumped in and started talking non-stop about quidditch and his team's chance at winning the cup.

Finally the conversation seemed to turn to Albus, and everyone began asking him questions about his upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia. Albus proudly told everyone about the research he had been doing and the letters he had received from the site director at the archeological dig. His parents beamed with pride, and his aunt Hermione seemed fascinated in the research he was doing. He heard his grandmother whisper to his grandfather, "I always knew he was gifted."

Albus normally didn't like being the center of attention, but he had to admit that hearing his family praise him instead of James for once was quite enjoyable. He turned to look at James, and noticed with delight that James seemed to hate Albus getting attention almost as much as Albus loved it.

James looked over at his little brother and grinned before saying, "Well, there's actually something else that happened this term that Albus isn't telling you about." Albus gasped, what was James doing?

"It's more exciting then his trip in my opinion." James added with a smirk.

All the kids in the room became deadly silent, knowing exactly what James was referencing. The parents on the other hand looked at Albus with interest, waiting for him to break the big news.

When Albus was silent, and his face froze in a slightly terrified look his mother began to show concern.

"What is it Alby?" She asked in her soothing voice.

"I-I-I" Albus got out, but his brain wouldn't work correctly. He couldn't think how to get himself out of the situation, but he knew he couldn't tell his parents. His emotions over his sexuality hadn't even settled, and after the way his roommates and some Hogwarts students had acted, he just wasn't ready to tell his parents.

"Albus?" His father questioned, also looking a tad worried, "What is it? You can tell us."

Albus felt his heart rate building and his body begin to sweat, so he finally blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"Can I go to Scorpius Malfoy's house for a Christmas Party?" He all but shouted at his parents.

There was a few seconds where everyone processed this information. Then, very quietly Harry said. "What?"

Albus' brain went from frozen to high-speed.

"This term I made new friends with a group of Slytherin students. There's Sullivan, I have a lot of classes with him. Then Jaysen, I tutored him in astronomy. And Wendy and Andrew and Tess and Stephanie and Scorpius. They invited me to a Christmas party that they are all having on the 23rd at Scorpius' house and I was just wondering if I could go." Albus took a deep breath and watched his parent's faces for a reaction.

"Scorpius. Malfoy." His father finally got out. "You are friends with Scorpius Malfoy and you want to go to his _house, _the Malfoy Manor for a Christmas party, with him and all of his friends." His father said the words as if he was telling some sort of ridiculous story he didn't believe.

Albus nodded.

"You've got to be joking." His uncle Ron muttered.

"James, is this the news you were talking about?" Ginny asked, James didn't respond, and Ron cut back in.

"Are you aware that the last time we were in the Malfoy Manor Hermione was being tortured?" His uncle was turning very red and his voice was steadily rising.

"Ron!" His aunt yelled at him, "That has nothing to do with this."

"I dunno about that," His uncle shot back, "Why on earth do you want to be friends with these people?"

Albus, feeling a little bold answered his uncle's question loudly, "They aren't their parents Uncle Ron! They aren't death eaters, and they aren't evil, they are my friends!"

The room became silent again before Harry spoke. "No one is calling them death eaters son." He said quietly, while giving a harsh look in Ron's direction. "But even if I have never met them, I have heard many rumors about Scorpius Malfoy and his posse. Their hobbies seem very… different from yours son. I don't want you hanging around people who are a bad influence."

"I think it's the other way around dad." Lily chimed in, "I think Al is a good influence on them. He got Jaysen Villacrow to finally pass astronomy. He's been trying for two years." Albus looked over at his sister, silently thanking her. She smiled back.

"Albus is a lot happier now too." Rose added, "Besides, he's responsible enough to pick his own friends I think.

Ron was glaring at his daughter as if she was a traitor, but Albus was staring at her in awe, he would have never expected Rosie to be on his side, he thought she hated his Slytherin friends.

"Maybe this is something your father and I can discuss overnight, and we can talk to you more in the morning." Ginny finally said.

Albus nodded. He was torn between feeling pleased that he had been able to change the subject so easily, but annoyed that his family was so against his being friends with Slytherins.

"Well it is getting rather late." His grandfather said finally. Albus remembered that his grandparents hadn't spoken a word since his confession, but he now noticed that they both looked tense and very, very tired.

"Yes, we should go too." Hermione said. Moments later everyone was saying their goodbyes. Albus walked up to Rosie and gave her a hug.

"Thanks for what you said." He said quietly.

Rose looked at him and sighed. "Just be careful Albus. Don't go doing anything stupid and making me regret defending you."

Albus thought back to all the things he had done in the last term that Rose didn't know about. He worried that he already had.

* * *

><p>"You're going to wear that?"<p>

"LILY GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

"You aren't going to impress anyone dressed like that." Lily commented from the doorway, beginning to walk away.

"Wait!" Albus looked in the mirror, then back at his sister who had stopped. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

Lily sighed loudly, "One second, I'll be right back." Then she disappeared.

Albus groaned and flopped onto his bed. He had thought the hard part of this would be convincing his parents to let him go, but they had actually been rather calm about the entire situation.

After they had spent the night thinking about it, the next morning Harry and Ginny had a talk with Albus. They set down clear rules of the kind of behavior they expected and his curfew. His mother wanted to make sure that parents would be there. Albus had to lie about that part since he knew that Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were on vacation, and there was no way his parents would let him go if they knew there was no parental supervision. But over all they seemed understanding of his new friendships. Albus' parents in the past worried about him making friends at Hogwarts. The thought of him having no friends seemed more worrisome to them then his being friends with Slytherins. Ginny had even helped Albus make some sweets to bring as presents to the party.

About a minute later Lily came back holding something very similar to what Albus was wearing.  
>"Lily that's the same sweater I'm wearing, except it's yours." Albus accused.<p>

"Exactly!" Lily beamed, "Although the chunky sweater look is good on girls, it makes you look sloppy. Gran always knits these too big anyways, mine should fit you perfectly!"

"I'm not wearing your sweater Lily." Albus stated calmly, as if it were a fact and not up for discussion. But before he knew it his sister had crossed the room and was physically yanking his own sweater off of him. Because it was, as his sister had said, too large for him, it came off quite easily. Now he was standing in the middle of his room in only an undershirt with his sister giving him her no-nonsense look.

"Just try on the bloody sweater!" She demanded, thrusting it at him.

Albus decided it would save him some trouble if he did so he pulled the sweater over his head.

It fit him tightly over the chest and hugged his waist slightly as well.

"See." Lily said with a large smile. It looks much better. She frowned slightly, "Now if only I could do something about your jeans…"

"I'm NOT wearing your jeans!"

"Of course not." Lily responded, "But yours are so baggy."

Albus looked in the mirror and saw what Lily was talking about. The sweater hugged his top half tightly, making him look very slim, while his jeans were not form fitting in the slightest.

Albus sighed, "It's a lost cause."

Lily smiled sympathetically. "No it's not. The sweater really does fit you better. Scorpius will swoon." She grinned.

"Doubtful," Albus responded, "But thanks anyways."

"Hey what are fashionable little sisters for?" She asked, walking out the door.

After she left Albus looked in the mirror again, accepting of his clothing. Now if only he could do something with his hair…

* * *

><p>At 8 o'clock sharp Albus walked downstairs and into his living room. His whole family had gathered to see him off; as if he was leaving for a long and dangerous trip, not a five-hour stay at a friend's house.<p>

"You all set?" His father asked.

"Uh, yeah dad." Albus responded.

"You have your wand?" He asked. Albus rolled his eyes.

"Here, don't forget these." His mother handed him his candy gifts to give at the party.

"Thanks mum." He gave a small smile.

"Have fun!" Lily smiled.

James was silent.

Albus grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace.

His parents waved.

"Malfoy Manor!" He said loudly and clearly. And suddenly their faces were gone and he was being pulled and spun around so quickly he thought he might be sick. A few moments later he stopped and in front of him was a completely different living room; one much more grand than his own. He stepped out of the marble fireplace and onto a large and colorful Turkish carpet, which Albus was quite sure cost more than his house. Looking around, the entire room seemed to be decorated with antique furniture and artwork. He thought for a moment that he had come to the wrong house and that "Malfoy" might also be the surname for a famous historian. Moments later however all doubt disappeared as Scorpius walked into the room.

"Hey," he greeted with a smile, "You made it."

"Hey." Albus responded. He suddenly felt very nervous. Scorpius always seemed to have a sort of control over him, but now, in Scorpius' house Albus felt even less control. It scared him a little.

"Stephanie and Sullivan are here already. They are in the kitchen, eating all the food." Scorpius took a couple steps toward Albus.

"Oh, good." Albus responded.

"Good?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow and came closer, "You are afraid to be alone with me?"

"What? No, of course not!" Albus responded with a blush.

"I'm glad," Scorpius almost whispered, "Because I was hoping to get some alone time with you tonight."

"I have to be home by one!" Albus blurted out.

"A curfew?" Scorpius asked. When Albus nodded he chuckled, "That's so sweet. Well if we don't have much time, we might as well get started."

Scorpius grabbed the back of Albus neck and pulled him in for a long deep kiss. Any nerves that Albus had quickly vanished. It had been a long time since they had kissed and Albus had forgotten how wonderful it was. He breathed in deeply, enjoying the scent that Scorpius gave off. He felt Scorpius slip a tongue into his mouth and almost shivered, he tentatively added his own tongue to the kiss, swirling it around and moaning quietly when the two came in contact.

Behind them there was a loud unmistakable pop of someone arriving by floo.

"Ugh, no snogging where the guests arrive!" A voice called.

Separating the two boys turned around, to be greeted by Andrew and Tess.

"That's rich, coming from you. Tell me, what were you two love birds doing before you arrived?" Scorpius asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Tess responded, before walking over to greet Albus.

"At least we have to decency to keep it private." Andrew grumbled.

Just then another loud pop signaled the arrival of Jaysen.

"HOHOHO!" Jaysen yelled out. Albus turned and gasped when he saw Jaysen dressed in a Santa suit, complete with beard and jingle bell hat.

Jaysen noticed Albus and walked over, slinging an arm around his shoulder. "Maybe you hadn't heard, but every year I dress up like Santa at the Christmas party. It's a time old tradition that we all cherish."

"He lost a bet in second year." Scorpius added.

Jaysen huffed, and then looking around the room said, "Astoria has been busy this year."

"You should see my room, she went to Brazil and redecorated everything." Scorpius complained. Noticing Albus' confusion he added, "My mom has an antique obsession, she's made the whole house look like someone's attic."

"I like it," Albus smiled, "It looks more homey than I expected."

Scorpius chuckled, "Did you think it would look like a dungeon? Apparently it was a lot more dreary when my dad was a kid."

Then from across the house they heard a voice yell "WHERE ARE YOU LOSERS?"

"Stephanie has lost her patience, come on let's go." Scorpius led them in and out a few more rooms before they finally reached the kitchen.

When they arrived the group said their hellos, although everyone seemed most excited to see Albus.

"We've all been hanging around here all week because Scorpius parents have been gone, but we haven't seen you once!" Stephanie explained as she crushed him in a huge hug.

Somewhere amidst all the chaos Wendy arrived and also crushed Albus in a hug. She was also the first one to mention the box he was holding in his hand.

"Oh, my mom and I made them, they're just little Christmas presents for you all."

"AWWWWWWWWWW!" All the girls in the room chorused.

"You made us Christmas presents with your Mom? You are too adorable!" Tess squealed, "What are they?"

Albus opened the box to reveal white and red striped candy canes, perfectly curved and resting on green and silver paper.

"It's a family recipe, my gran and her mom used to make them, then my gran taught my mom and she was going to teach Lily, but Lily wasn't really interested so she taught me. It's kind of a family tradition." Albus was starting to feel a little embarrassed. Maybe he should have told his mom not to make them. He didn't want to look like some sort of momma's boy.

But Tess seemed delighted; she took one out and popped it in her mouth, a moment later she gasped. Albus smiled.

"This-this tastes exactly like my grandma's custard tarts!" She said before furiously shoving it back in her mouth and sucking on it some more. A moment later she pulled it back out. "How did you do that?"

"It's part of the recipe," Albus exclaimed, "It involves a little magic so they taste exactly like your favorite thing in the world."

"That's incredible!" Sullivan said looking impressed.

Jaysen reached for one next, and after a moment got a dreamy look in his eye. "The croissants! From the bakery across the street from where I grew up, it closed down a few years ago. I loved those croissants."

Stephanie was next, "My dad's fish and chips." She said with a laugh.

Soon everyone had grabbed one.

"Tastes like strawberry ice cream with chocolate fudge from Florean's!" Wendy exclaimed.

"I taste bacon." Andrew said with a smile.

"Mmmm, beef stew." Sullivan sighed.

Only Scorpius was left. He had sucked on it for a few moments without saying anything.

"Tastes good." He finally said.

"Aw, come on Scorpius, what does it taste like?" Jaysen demanded.

"Your mom's cunt." He shot back.

Albus was confused by Scorpius' hostility towards the question, it couldn't be that bad. But everyone else seemed to be enjoying his present, so he didn't mind too much. Somewhere in between sucking on their candy canes Scorpius pulled out a few bottles of whiskey and gin. Even some peppermint flavored vodka.

So they all drank and ate their candy and laughed and got pretty drunk. After the candy canes had all disappeared they migrated into a sitting room, which was possibly decorated even more extravagantly than the last. They played drinking games and got even more drunk. Albus told the story of announcing his friendship to Slytherins at a family dinner. He acted like his Uncle Ron and yelling about death eaters and running around. It was perhaps a bit more dramatic than reality but it got all his friends laughing. Before Albus even realized, the night was slowly slipping away. He felt like that Cinderella from the muggle fairy tale, the seconds ticking away before his magnificent night would end.

Around midnight, in the middle of Andrew doing a very crude impersonation their headmaster, Scorpius got up and walked out of the room without a word.

When they were all done laughing at Andrew, Stephanie whispered in Albus' ear, "I think he wants you to follow him. "

"What?" Albus blushed.

"You have to leave by one right? I think he's hoping you'll go find him. Check upstairs."

Albus was very unsure. What if Scorpius just needed a moment to himself and Albus would be bothering him.

Everyone seemed to be amused at his response.

"We've been his friends for years Albus. Trust us. Go find him." Andrew ensured him.

So, careful not to fall over, Albus stood and walked out of the room. A moment later he came back, grabbed one of the opened bottles of gin and said, "Just in case."

Everyone laughed, and whooped and cheered as he exited the second time.

* * *

><p>Taking a large swig of the bottle Albus climbed the first flight of stairs he could find and went to the second floor. It was only after about a minute of walking around that Albus realized how enormous the Malfoy Manor was. What if he couldn't even find Scorpius? Then he heard a faint sound. He followed it, and as the sound got louder he identified it as a piano.<p>

Soon enough he found the room the sound was coming from. He walked in and saw in the corner, next to a large window was a beautiful grand piano and sitting at it was Scorpius. Albus walked in, and stood for a moment listening. It was a beautiful song and Scorpius was a very talented piano player. After a few moments of watching Scorpius noticed him and stopped played.

"No don't stop!" Albus pleaded, so Scorpius finished the song, and Albus walked over to sit with him on the piano bench. Once the song was over Albus sighed, "That was beautiful."

"The Holly and the Ivy, by George Winston. I thought it was appropriate for Christmas."

"A muggle composer?" Albus asked, taking another sip from the bottle he had brought.

"My family doesn't hate muggles you know." Scorpius answered. "We recognize that they are good at many things. In art I think they often surpass wizards in fact."

Albus hummed in consent, and offered his bottle to Scorpius.

The blond took a swig and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you said you wanted some alone time." Albus said quietly, not sure how else to approach the subject, but shy about being too direct.

Scorpius chuckled slightly, "Is that all you want from me?"

"No, but it's all you want from me!" Albus challenged him. He regretted it a moment later, but his brain was very fuzzy and he wasn't thinking clearly. "Why have you been ignoring me at school?" He asked.

"I was being an asshole." Scorpius responded, "I do that a lot you know, you're going to have to get used to it."

"I think I can manage." Albus whispered heavily, leaning into Scorpius. He didn't mean to be so straightforward, but he could only think about the kiss from before and he also knew that he was running out of time to get what he wanted.

Thankfully Scorpius seemed to be thinking the same thing as Albus. He pulled him over to a nearby couch, pushed him down, and then started snogging him just a thoroughly as before. Soon Scorpius' hands were running under his sweater and undershirt, touching his stomach and chest. Albus wrapped his arms around Scorpius' neck and pulled the blond down until he was lying on top of Albus. Scorpius chuckled, "You're a funny one Albus Potter." He said, kissing up and down Albus' neck.

"What does that mean?" Albus asked, his words strained.

"Everyone thinks you're so innocent." Scorpius chuckled as he nibbled on Albus' ear. "But look at you, weaseling your way into my friend group, get drunk and seducing me."

"Well I am part Weasley." Albus mumbled, pulling Scorpius' lips back to his own. But Scorpius pulled away again.  
>"I thought Weasleys didn't like weasel jokes."<p>

"Its okay when we say them." Albus grinned. "Now can we stop talking?" He pulled Scorpius' lips to his again, but a moment later Scorpius pulled away again.

"You know my friends really like you."

"I'm beginning to think you don't." Albus muttered under his breath.

"I never knew what their favorite foods were until tonight. Well maybe except Andrew. But seriously, how long have I been friends with them and not known?"

Suddenly Albus thought of something, "What was your favorite food?"

Scorpius looked alarmed, and instead of answering, just crashed back down onto Albus' lips. This is what Albus had wanted in the first place, but now he was determined. Determined only the way an intoxicated person can be. He sat up, even though Scorpius tried to pull him back down.

"What is your favorite food Scorpius?" Albus demanded. Scorpius glared at him, but after a moment realized that Albus was not going to let it go.

"Toffee." He finally said. Albus was a little disappointed, that was it? But then Scorpius continued. "When I was little my grandparents had moved away from the manor and to a little cottage where they could live peacefully. Whenever my parents would bring me to my grandparent's house my grandfather would give me a toffee, and then he would sit me on his lap and tell me what a wonderful, amazing child I was. How smart and talented I was. How I would carry on the Malfoy name with pride. My grandmother doted on me, and told me how much she loved me. Those are some of the happiest memories I have. Before I got old enough to realize that the world hated them, and thought they were evil. Back then they were just my grandparents. And my grandpa was just a nice old man who gave me toffees."

They we quiet for a moment before Albus pulled Scorpius back towards him, "They weren't evil. And you are amazing." He said, "Thank you for telling me." Then he kissed Scorpius, slowly and lovingly. Scorpius felt uncomfortable, he had never been kissed like this before, for him kisses were always hot and passionate. But he realized he was starting to enjoy it. He wrapped his arms around Albus, and they both lay back down.

After a few minutes things sped back up, and Scorpius felt more confident. He ran his hands under Albus' shirt again, this time pulling the fabric up and over the boy's head. It got stuck a bit, and Albus couldn't help but think it wouldn't have been a problem if he had worn his own oversized sweater, but all thoughts were quickly forgotten when Scorpius started licking down his chest. He groaned and closed his eyes reveling in the feeling of Scorpius' tongue exploring his body.

Albus felt very exposed next to Scorpius so he moved to try and unbutton the black shirt the Slytherin was wearing. His fingers felt numb, and he couldn't even get one button undone. Scorpius pulled the shirt over his head, and continued, now sucking and biting Albus all over, leaving him moaning.

Albus ran his hands up and down Scorpius newly exposed back digging his fingernails in and loving the sound of hearing Scorpius groan for once.

Scorpius' tongue wandered its way over to one of his nipples and bit down, Albus yelled out, and Scorpius licked back over it as an apology. Albus moaned, and wrapped his legs around Scorpius body, pulling their bodies closer still. Scorpius seemed to stiffen at the extra contact, before rubbing their bodies together harshly. Albus could feel Scorpius' erection starting to grow. And the feeling of it rubbing up against his own, got him extremely hard. His body started to get hotter and hotter, and he moaned slowly, whispering Scorpius' name.

Scorpius grinned up at him, "What do you want?"

Albus didn't say a word but just groaned loudly as he felt the friction between them increase.

"You're going to have to say it." Scorpius teased in a deep throaty voice.

"More." Was the only thing Albus could manage. But he noticed the effect it had on Scorpius. The blond started pushing against him harder and finally brought their mouths back together in a passionate reunion. The kissing was sloppy and frantic, and they had to pull apart every few seconds so Albus could catch his breath. The snogging combined with the alcohol was starting to make his head very light.

Then he felt Scorpius' hand rub down to his lower back, it dipped down, under his jeans and grab his ass, making Albus moan again. Then the hand slowly moved its way around until it finally grabbed Albus' hard-on.

"Oh god." He stammered. Scorpius' hand moved expertly up and down his cock, paying special attention to the head then moving up and down in long steady strokes.

"Merlin, Scorpius." Albus gasped. Scorpius grinned.

"Do me." He whispered huskily.

Albus blushed, he knew it was no time for blushing but he couldn't help it. He slowly removed one of his hands from Scorpius' back and plunged it down the boy's pants, finding the Slytherin's cock dripping and straining against the fabric it was confined to. He started moving up and down, trying to match Scorpius rhythm.

"Mmm, faster." Scorpius whispered in his ear. The blond started moving faster and Albus could feel himself getting hotter. He pumped his hand as hard as possible and he could feel Scorpius' breathing getting more labored.

"Fuck Albus." He said. With his other hand, he grabbed Albus' neck and brought their lips together once again, for a deep kiss. Albus couldn't take it, all the sensation was too much, he pulled away and cried out and he came, Scorpius' hand still stroking him. Moments later Scorpius grunted and he felt his hand get hot and sticky with cum. The kept grinding against one another, riding out their orgasms for a minute more. Scorpius then reached down into the pocket of his abandoned shirt and grabbed his wand.

"Scourgify." He muttered. Albus hand and pants suddenly felt clean and dry.

He was still breathing heavily, but he managed a thanks.

Scorpius grinned, and leaned back down trailing little kisses down Albus' neck as the boy regained his breath.

"You were rather good at that." Scorpius commented a moment later. "You've had practice." He teased.

"Not really." Albus muttered blushing.

"Oh come on, not even with yourself."

"Not very often." Albus answered timidly, "But I mean, every once and a while."

"That's something I'd like to see."

Albus blushed even more. He gazed up, Scorpius looked so beautiful above him, Albus just wanted to stay with him as long as possib-

"Shit!" Albus yelled, sitting up suddenly.

"What?" Scorpius looked alarmed.

"What time is it?" Albus demanded. Scorpius grabbed his wand and cast a quick tempus charm. Above his wand in a dim smoky light shone the words 12:57.

Albus groaned.

"I have to go." He said miserably.

"What? No, come on." Scorpius threw down his wand and grabbed Albus' arm. "You can be late, what's the big deal?"

The drunk, impulsive side of his brain wanted to lay back down and see what Scorpius did next, but the reasonable side knew that if he broke curfew this time his parents would never trust him with the Slytherins again.

So he gently pulled away from Scorpius and pulled his sweater back on.

Glancing back he saw Scorpius was pouting on the couch. He ran back to get him a quick kiss. "Thanks, for tonight. Best Christmas gift ever." He giggled slightly and then ran out of the room.

Once Albus was gone Scorpius sighed. He reached for the forgotten bottle that sat on the floor next to the couch. Scorpius drank it.

Although his mind was still very distorted Albus somehow managed to find his way back to where the rest of the group had been.

They were all even more drunk then when he had left them. Jaysen had rid himself of the Santa suit and was laying on the floor in his underwear.

"LOOK WHO IT IS!" Jaysen literally screamed. They all cheered loudly.

"You look a lil' bit- um- disshelved." Wendy said.

"You have SEX written all over you!" Stephanie added.

Albus blushed, having no idea what to say, this just caused them to all catcall louder.

"I gotta go," he finally said. "Curfew."

They all hissed and booed, as he said goodbye and tried to leave.

"Wait!" Sullivan called. Abus turned, and the Slytherin tossed him a small glass bottle. "For the morning." Was all he said.

Albus' mind was so hazy, he had no idea what the bottle could be for, but he took it and raced out of the room. Once he reached the marble fireplace again, he quickly grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace.

"The Chosen House." He announced clearly.

This had been a joke between his parents his whole life. Back in school his father had been given the name the 'Chosen One' and ever since his mother had been teasing him about it. His favorite hat was "the chosen hat" his chair at the dinner table was "the chosen chair". His father was a good sport about it, so when they bought their first house together, of course they named it "the chosen house".

* * *

><p>Soon enough Albus was back in said house. He stepped into the living room and glanced up at the old grandfather clock. It was just barely after one. He listened, but couldn't hear a sound. Carefully he made his way back up to his room. Everyone seemed to be asleep, and Albus was relieved that his parents trusted him enough to not wait up. Albus wasn't sure if he could pull off acting sober right now. He reached his room and closed the door behind him. Pulling off his sweater and jeans he fell into bed and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.<p> 


	19. Chapter 19

The good news: I'm not dead

The bad news: I'm really not going to get any better at updating

* * *

><p>The next morning Albus awoke before the sun, to his mother rubbing his back softly.<p>

"Morning my love." She said quietly. "Breakfast in ten minutes alright? Then we have to start getting the house ready." She waited until Albus has given a grunt of understanding before getting up and walking out of the room.

Albus glanced the clock. It was 6 am. He hated having Christmas at his house. Slowly he rose out of bed, only to cringe when he felt his head pound. Dammit, he was really hungover, which shouldn't have come as a surprise, based on how much gin he had drank, but was a major inconvenience on a day like today, where he would spend six hours preparing his house to host 30 plus people and then entertain those 30 plus people for a day and a half.

Shaking his head Albus stepped out of bed and almost tripped on something that was lying on the floor. Glancing down he pick up a small glass bottle, which was lying next to his jeans from the night before. It took him a moment to recall where it had come from. Sullivan! He had said 'for the morning'. Could it really be what Albus hoped it was? Only one way to find out. Albus popped the cork off the top and drank the whole thing in one gulp. Instantly his headache and stomachache disappeared, he felt more awake than could be possible after five hours of sleep. The potion was even a little minty, getting rid of his morning-after breath. Albus grinned, he had never loved someone as much as he loved Sullivan in that very moment.

After changing he walked downstairs and passed his sister, who ironically looked a lot worse off than he did.

"Well somebody has a pep in their step." She growled, rubbing her eyes. "Anything good happen to you last night?" Albus just gave his sister a small smile. She shook her head and whispered, "I want all the dirty details later."

Arriving in the kitchen they sat down with their mother and father. James was still upstairs.

"JAMES! BREAKFAST! NOW!" Ginny yelled up the stairs. Her second wake up calls were always I lot less loving than the first. Moments later James lumbered down the stairs, still in his pajamas.

"Merlin Mom, its just the family, I don't see why we have to go through all the fuss." He complained.

"It's Christmas James." She said, as if that explained everything.

"Happy Christmas Eve!" Harry announced to all of his children. They all chimed it back to him, but he was looking mostly at his youngest son.

"Have a good night then Albus?" He asked.

"Yes, very much." Albus replied, digging into his breakfast.

"What did you all do?" His father asked.

Albus tried his very best to keep a straight face. "We ate a lot of food, and told stories of past Christmas' we've had with our families. A lot of them travel over the holidays, so they have a lot of exciting adventures. Then we just talked about… stuff, I dunno, school stuff and… stuff." He finished lamely. He looked over at his father, who seemed satisfied.

"Well good, I'm glad you had fun." He answered, before going back to his toast.

"Oh, and mum they loved the candy canes!" Albus brightened, happy to be able to share something true, "They all wanted me to thank you!"

"Oh, well I'm so glad." Ginny brightened. His mother was easy to please, just compliment her, and that was enough.

Just then an owl flew through the kitchen window, and landed on the owl perch they had on the kitchen counter.

Harry glanced over and his face darkened. "A ministry owl? On Christmas Eve?"

Ginny's face went sour. "They better not call you in today, I don't care what's going on, you work too much as it is, you need a proper holiday!" She glared at the owl, wishing it to go away.

"Now hang on Ginny, let me read it first." Harry carefully unrolled the parchment from the leg of the owl and began to read. About halfway through the letter he burst out laughing,

"Hang on, you've got to hear this. Its from Drowel, he was working the floo connections network last night it seems." Then Harry read the letter aloud.

_Mr. Potter,_

_Early this morning as I was working the floo network I noticed a very strange connection from the Malfoy Manor to your residence at 1:02 am. I was very alarmed, but when I looked back earlier in the night I saw a connection from your residence to the Malfoy Manor at 8:00 pm. I didn't want to bother you so early this morning but wanted to let you know, in case by any chance, you were not aware of this. Although, I'm sure Mr. Potter you are alert to the wizards that enter and exit your residence. I hope all is well. Happy Christmas._

_-Lester Drowel_

After finishing the letter Harry burst out laughing once again. "Oh poor Drowel. He does have such a boring job; I don't blame him for wanting to spice it up every now and again. But really the idea of Draco or Astoria Malfoy breaking into my house in the middle of the night…" He started laughing again. Even Ginny chuckled.

"Well Albus, I'm afraid he's busted you." Harry said, turning back toward his son. Albus suddenly went on high alert, what did his father mean?

"1:02 am huh? I believe your curfew was a strict 1:00 was it not?" Albus was relieved to see the jest in his father's smile; he was clearly not concerned with the two minutes and was just giving his son a hard time. Albus played along.

"I'm very sorry father, if you would like I will give myself two minutes of alone time in my room today to think about what I have done. "

Harry grinned, "I think that is an acceptable punishment." And with that the Potter family went back to enjoying their breakfast.

* * *

><p>Stephanie found Scorpius the next morning, not in his bed but passed out on a couch in the east wing piano room. His shirt was off, lying next to him on the floor and he was holding onto an empty gin bottle as if it was his teddy bear.<p>

"Scor!" She said loudly, the blond stirred.

He cracked open one eye and said, "Please tell me we have hang-over potions."

Stephanie tossed him the one she had been sent to deliver to the sleeping prince. Scorpius sat up, drank the bottle, and then reached down to put his shirt back on.

"Soooooooo." Stephanie said slowly, "How was last night."

"Rather disappointing actually, thanks for reminding me." Scorpius grumbled.

"Well Albus didn't look too disappointed when he came downstairs to say goodbye last night. He looked pretty content… if you know what I mean." Stephanie winked.

"The damn brat got me all riled up and then just left." Scorpius lamented. Stephanie rolled her eyes.

"Scor, just because you didn't fuck him, doesn't mean he left you high and dry. He's a virgin you know, and he's not just going to jump into bed with you on a whim. It's gonna take awhile. And based on the way you've been acting the past month, I'm surprised you got anywhere at all."

Scorpius just grumbled some more.

"Besides, it's not like you to complain about your one night stands leaving in the middle of the night. Usually you complain because they won't." She reminded him.

"You know Albus isn't just some one night stand." Scorpius replied.

"Oh!" Stephanie brightened, "So you are saying he's special, different from everyone else."

"NO!" Scorpius yelled, "Dammit Steph stop twisting my words."

Scorpius was frustrated, because in reality he had no idea what the Gryffindor meant to him. He thought the boy was funny, and kinda cute and decent hook up so far. But there was also something unnerving about the boy; he constantly caused Scorpius to spill his secrets. Like just last night, when he told Albus about his grandparents. He never talked to anybody about his grandparents. But he got around Albus and the whole thing just slipped out. Scorpius couldn't take it.

Stephanie watched her friend battle furiously in his mind over Albus Potter and sighed.

"Can you just admit that you like him so we can all stop trying to avoid the obvious?"

Scorpius gave her a death glare. "Fuck you, I wont say it again, I don't like him!"

Stephanie rolled her eyes and left the room, calling out behind her, "I'll make us some breakfast. Oh and Happy Christmas, you wanker."

Scorpius laid back down on the couch and closed his eyes, "Bah humbug."

* * *

><p>Albus put one last batch of cranberry biscuits in the oven when his mother walked into the kitchen.<p>

"Oh dear, thank you so much for your help today. Your grandmother will insist on cooking tomorrow, so you might be off the hook."

Albus smiled, he was exhausted after spending 8 hours in the kitchen, but the Potters did not take Christmas lightly. The truth was James and Lily had worse jobs. James was cleaning and helping their father find a place for everyone to sleep. This required a lot of magic on Harry's part and a lot of heavy lifting for James.

Lily was in charge of decorating. However, Ginny Potter would walk into every room Lily had done and tell her to change it. Just a little more tinsel here, no, move the wreath over here. Albus couldn't keep track of how many times he had heard his sister yell, "Why don't you just do it yourself mom!" The kitchen was really the safest place to be.

"I'm happy to help mom." Albus smiled.

"I know you are." She gave Albus a kiss on the top of his head, "You're such a sweet boy." She then gave him a quick hug and pushed him out of the room.

"Guests will be arriving soon, so go wash up and get changed."

It was while Albus was in the shower that he heard the first of the guests arriving. It wasn't until he was out of the shower and heading for his room to change that he recognized the voice downstairs. Albus instantly ran into his room, pulled on a T-Shirt and jeans and raced back downstairs.

"Teddy!" Albus yelled. Standing in the middle of the living room was his brother.

"Hey Al, nice hair." Teddy smiled walking over and rustling Albus' wet and dripping hair.

"Albus Potter, the family will be here soon!" His mother gasped when she saw his appearance. "Go dry your hair and put on a shirt!"

Albus rolled his eyes, "Mooom, I'm wearing a shirt, and I haven't even gotten to say hi to Teddy."

"Not a T-shirt for goodness sakes, its Christmas!" Ginny shrilled, shooing him upstairs.

"I'll come with you." Teddy grinned following Albus up the stairs.

Once they were out of earshot Albus whispered, "Sorry about her, she goes bonkers when company comes over."

"I HEARD THAT!" Ginny screamed from downstairs and Teddy burst out laughing.

"It wouldn't be Christmas any other way." He smiled.

* * *

><p>Once they were inside Albus' room, Albus closed the door and grabbed Teddy in a huge hug.<p>

"I missed you."

"I missed you too." Teddy said letting his brother go.

Albus walked over to his closet to grab a nicer shirt. "So what was the exciting news you told me about in your letter?" Albus asked.

Teddy blushed for a moment and Albus' eyes widened. "What is it Teddy?"

"You'll find out tonight." Teddy waved off the question, "Harry tells me that you went to Malfoy Manor last night." Teddy raised his eyebrows at his brother, "Do tell."

"Ugh, they would tell you that first. Let me explain." Albus pulled off his t-shirt then turned around to explain the details of the previous night. Before he could get a word out he saw Teddy's face.

"What?" Albus asked, because his brother looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

"You don't need to explain, I think I get the picture." Teddy said half amused, half embarrassed. It took Albus a moment to realize that it was him that made Teddy looked so surprised. Glancing down at himself Albus gasped. Over his right nipple was a large bite mark, bright red from the shower he just took.

"Oh merlin." Albus was quickly turning beet red and he turned to his brother to try to explain, but he just sputtered, "It's no-not what you th-think!" He managed, grabbed his button up shirt and pulling it on quickly.

"The relationship has progressed I presume." Teddy said with a cough, looking away from Albus as the boy buttoned up his shirt.

"No!" Albus insisted, "Well, I mean, yes but- oh god this is so embarrassing."

"Embarrassing huh?" Teddy cocked an eyebrow, "Do you regret it?"

Albus turned impossibly more red. "No." He said quietly without looking at his brother. "I just didn't want you to find out this way."

Teddy shrugged, "Well I did, and now you have to tell me what's been going on."

So Albus sat down on the foot of his bed and began to recount the last couple of months at Hogwarts to his brother. He talked about the drinking and the smoking and how Scorpius' attention shifted on and off of him daily.

"He's using you!" Teddy burst out, outraged when he couldn't listen to Albus' story any longer.

"He's just a… free spirit." Albus tried to explain, "Does what he wants."

"He's an asshole." Teddy yelled again, "A slimy little git. And don't think I'm overlooking the drinking and smoking Albus." Teddy continued. " I have half a mind to tell Harry and Ginny."

"Oh please," Albus laughed, calling his brother's bluff. "As if you didn't drink at Hogwarts, AND sneak around with Victoire. I still do my work, why can't I have a little fun?"

Teddy just sighed, he clearly wasn't going to get anywhere by lecturing Albus. Many people who didn't know Albus thought he was soft-spoken and shy, but Teddy knew better. Albus was just as passionate and temperamental as the rest of his Weasley relatives; he just chose his battles much more carefully. That way, when he finally did insist on something, everyone was too shocked to say no. He didn't always get his way, but he did about what mattered most to him. Clearly Scorpius Malfoy mattered to him a lot.

Teddy looked over his brother again carefully. He loved his little brother but Albus wasn't 11 years old, looking up at Teddy like he was a god anymore. Eventually he was going to have to learn this lesson and it looked like it might be the hard way.

"When are you going to share this information with you parents?" Teddy finally asked.

"Are you kidding?" Albus threw up his hands, "You should have been here when I asked to go to Malfoy Manor. I thought sparks would come shooting out of my parents' ears. There's no way they would ever let me date Scorpius." Albus glared.

Teddy was thinking that there was no way Scorpius was serious enough about Albus to date him, but he kept that thought to himself.

"You have to tell them you're gay Albus. To be honest, they might already know. If all of Hogwarts is talking about it I doubt your secret is safe much longer."

Albus' eyes widened, as if he hadn't thought about that yet. Then he glared, "You're worse then James." Albus mumbled finally. "If you two had it your way I would march downstairs and announce it in the middle of Christmas dinner tonight."

Now it was Teddy's turn to have his eyes go wide. "Well, I mean, maybe not tonight…" He answered hesitantly.

Albus' gaze narrowed, what in the world was going on with Teddy?

Suddenly a voice came from downstairs. "Boys get down here! Company is arriving!" Ginny yelled. Teddy looked relieved by the interruption.

"Come on." He smiled, "We better go."

* * *

><p>The two headed downstairs together and saw that the majority of the family had arrived. Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron were there with Rose and Hugo. Uncle George and Aunt Angelina had arrived with Fred and Roxanne. Uncle Charlie was there, as was Uncle Bill. And of course if Uncle Bill was there, so was his wife and children.<p>

Teddy brightened when he saw Victoire. Standing right next to her was her younger sister Dominique and their youngest brother Louis. Albus tried to keep a pleasant face but it couldn't have been too convincing because Teddy elbowed him and said, "Play nice, okay little bro?" Then he walked away, to stand next to Victoire. Albus watched the two of them for a moment. They were both all smiles, but they also seemed a little nervous. What did they have to be nervous around one another for? They had been dating for years now.

Albus' train of thought was broken when he noticed his cousin Louis approaching him. It was for Louis that Albus had tried to keep his face pleasant, but when he saw his cousin closing in, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Dearest cousin." Louis called. Albus wished he could disappear into the ground.

"What do you want Louis?" Albus grumbled, quietly enough that no one else should have heard.

"Simply to say hello to my dearest cousin Albus." Louis grinned and pulled his cousin's face to give him a quick kiss on each cheek.

"Hello, how are you?" Albus asked, in what he thought was a very polite tone.

"Fantastique, merveilleux, formidable!" His cousin exclaimed. Then he pretended to look embarrassed, "Oh, excuse me, I mean I'm great. I forgot you don't speak any French. Just another thing they don't both teaching at that school you go to."

Albus took a deep breath and resisted the urge to poke his cousin in the eye. Louis Weasley went to Beauxbatons along with his sister Dominique. Dominique was in her last year of school while Louis was the same age as Albus. Never had Albus had a conversation with Louis in which the boy didn't brag about how superior his school was to Hogwarts. Both him and his sister seemed to look at Hogwarts students like little ants beneath them, so classless and ignorant and probably filthy to boot. Dominique had the grace to at least to be cordial to her cousins. She nodded and smiled and the correct times, but clearly didn't enjoy herself. Louis on the other hand was like the little boy who put a magnifying glass to the ants to watch them squirm.

Although Louis was equally as rude to all his Hogwarts-attending cousins, he had a special place in his heart for Albus. Being born so close together meant their parents had always assumed they would be friends. And by always being forced to spend time with one another from a young age the two boys had always been in constant competition. Louis usually won. He was equally as smart as Albus. He was also much better looking, being a quarter veela. He was much more sociable, generally stronger and faster, a few inches taller, and (as he always loved to remind Albus at any moment) bilingual. The only thing Albus was better at was generally not being a dick.

"How is Hogwarts by the way?" Louis asked. Albus couldn't help but notice there was a gleam in his eye.

"Fine," Albus replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I've heard some interesting things have been happening there this year." Louis said cryptically. "In particular I've heard some very interesting things about you." Louis offered with a grin.

The color drained from his face. Louis grinned again.

"Anything you'd like to share Al?" He whispered.

Albus froze and stared at his cousin. Louis knew. He _knew_. It was exactly what Teddy had just warned him about.

"Louis, isn't there a mirror somewhere you could be looking in?"

Louis turned to greet the new member of their conversation. "Rose." He sniffed at her.

Albus looked at Rose and she smiled at him.

"Sorry to intrude, but I need to borrow Al for a moment." She sent her French cousin a snotty smile and then pulled Albus out of the room and into the backyard.

"God he's so awful." Rose mumbled when they were out of earshot. "Cant even be pleasant for Christmas."

Albus still felt frozen by what Louis had said. "He knows." Albus whispered.

Rose didn't even bother asking what Albus was talking about.

"He wont tell." Rosie assured him.

"How did he even find out?" Albus demanded.

"Rumors spread." Rosie shrugged, "It's what they do Al."

"What, what if my parents hear about it." Albus couldn't imagine how awful that would be.  
>"Don't worry." Rose put a hand on his shoulder. "Teenagers don't usually go home and tell their parents rumors about the on goings of Hogwarts." Rosie smiled again, "It will be fine Albus. Please don't think about it, it's Christmas. We're playing keep-away Quidditch in the backyard, come on."<p>

* * *

><p>Keep-away Quidditch was something that James and Albus had created when they were young. Back then; his mom wouldn't give them a real snitch to practice catching, worried that they would lose it. To make up for it James would make Albus the snitch. If he could touch Albus then Albus would be the seeker and James would be the snitch. In essence it was just tag, but on brooms it became much more exciting.<p>

Over the years their cousins and even aunts and uncles had taken a liking to the game, until it became a family tradition. Now, they never played it with less then ten people. There were two seekers, while everyone else were snitches. Their uncle George had even created a charm, that would turn you bright gold when you were a snitch.

Albus walked out into the yard and his brother threw him a broom.

"Snitch or seeker?" James asked him.

"What are you going to be?" Albus replied.

"Seeker." James mounted his broom and rose a few inches in the air.

Albus did the same, and then replied, "Well then I'll be a snitch."

No sooner had the words come out of his mouth then his uncle pointed his wand and Albus turned bright gold.

"Is that a challenge baby brother?" James grinned. Albus shrugged but grinned back.

A moment later a whistle blew and Albus dashed off, quick as he could. There were plenty of snitches, but James focused on his brother. Albus would fly in between his brother and the other snitches, and James would clearly avoid them, going solely after Albus.

Albus wasn't a bad flier, in fact he was good enough to be on the house team if he worked at it; quidditch was just in his blood. His mother and father were both amazing fliers, and Albus had been taught to fly very young. He enjoyed flying immensely, but was not a fan of the rough and competitive game of quidditch. Albus was not a very competitive person usually, however when it came to James, he couldn't bear to lose. Unfortunately, while Albus could hold his own on a broom, his brother practiced quidditch almost everyday, after a few minutes of evading him, Albus finally got tagged by his brother. As soon as James touched him, Albus' gold color was transferred to James.

"Gotcha!" His brother laughed and flew away. Albus laughed to and chased after his brother.

As the game went on people left and others joined. At one point their father decided to chase their mother, and after about twenty minutes gave up. Ginny may have retired from professional quidditch almost 20 years ago, but she was quick as ever.

After what felt like hours Grandma Molly came out.

"Hey you lot its time for dinner!"

Everyone brought their brooms down. Smiling and windswept, they went inside.

* * *

><p>The dinner table was packed. Not just with food, but people as well. Every year the group seemed to get larger and larger. Harry sat down between Rose and his little cousin Fred. He spotted Louis at the far end of the table and smiled. At least he wouldn't have to put up with his cousin during dinner.<p>

Once everyone was sitting his father stood and spoke a few words.

"Happy Christmas everyone." He said, raising a glass. "A toast to loved ones and delicious food." They all smiled and raised their glasses in unison, repeating "Happy Christmas" around the table.

"Now let's eat!" Harry sat back down and the sound of thirty people all helping themselves to food filled the room. The scrape of plates and forks and knives was followed by silence as everyone dug into the delicious dinner that lay before them.

"Amazing Ginny! This is superb!" Hermione said to the hostess after more than a few bites.

"I can't take all the credit, Albus slaved away in the kitchen all day." Ginny smiled at her youngest son. Albus pretended he hadn't heard her, not wanting his mother to continue talking about what a good cook he was, she was so embarrassing.

Instead Albus turned to listen to his dad and uncle Ron discuss their current predicament at the ministry.

"Young witches and wizards are going to parties thrown by muggle teenagers." Harry explained, "It's highly illegal and extremely dangerous."

"Wouldn't it be a good idea for wizards to mingle with muggles dad?" Lily asked, "If more wizards could befriend muggles maybe we would be able to understand them better." She added thoughtfully.

"I wish it were that easy dear." Harry frowned, "But unfortunately when wizard teens go to these parties, they tend to put themselves under the influence of certain substances that impair their judgment."

"They also tend to be idiot show-offs." Ron grumbled, "Which is how they got caught in the first place. We got reports of muggle teens saying they had seen people flying on brooms, disappearing and reappearing instantaneously, freezing other partygoers, transforming couches into elephants. This list goes on, trust me."

"Luckily for us, covering these situations up has been easy, no memory charms are even necessary, because the adults just assume the teens were on some sort of hallucinogen." Harry added.

"What's a haloo-sin-a-gin?" Lily asked, sounding the word out slowly.

"Drugs." Harry answered grimly, "Some muggles like to poison their bodies with the most disgusting substances possible, and it causes their brains to see things that aren't really there."

"We had a young wizard die in St. Mungos just last week from trying too much of some muggle drug. It's deadly stuff." Ron sighed.

"Well isn't this just lovely Christmas eve conversation." Hermione butt in. "Can we please keep the grim ministry talk far away from the dinner table please."

Ron looked slightly sheepish. "Sorry dear."

"You're right," Harry said with a small smile, "Not something to worry about now anyways."

As the adults started a new conversation Albus was content to just sit and watch the dynamic of his ridiculously large family. Everyone was happily chatting, or shoveling down more food. It was times like these when Albus loved having a big family. He didn't need to be like James and talk the loudest to get the most attention, he was content to sit and be a part of it.

As Albus' eyes scanned around they landed on Teddy who was quietly talking to Victiore. The nerves he had noticed earlier seemed to be gone, instead his brother looked determined. Teddy noticed Albus' eyes, he looked over at his brother and gave him a wink. Then he stood up and cleared his throat loudly. Victiore stood up as well and everyone in the room was suddenly silent. The contrast between the ruckus and the silence was almost eerie.

"Victiore and I have something we want to tell you all." Teddy said trying to sound serious, but there was a grin peeking out of his lips.

Albus gaped. How had he missed this? Why hadn't he seen this coming? Suddenly, every little hint Teddy had slipped him made sense. If only Albus hadn't been wrapped up in his own worries.

Everyone was still silent, knowing what was coming but waiting for the words to be spoken. Finally Victiore did.

"We've decided to get married!"

If anyone had ever doubted where or not the Weasley's were loud people the moment after Victiore spoke would have quelled any uncertainties. The house exploded with yells and shouts and cheers. Everyone stood and rushed over to give their congratulations. There were mothers crying, lots of laughing, and Teddy and Victiore looked like the happiest people in the world.

* * *

><p>After dinner the family moved outside. Uncle George must have emptied his inventory of fireworks at his shop, because he gave them a fireworks show the likes of which Albus had never seen before. The finale was a giant dragon that danced through the sky before exploding overheard. The parents all happily reminisced of the time George and his twin brother had set a dragon firework on the Hogwart's caretaker.<p>

Albus, Lily, Rose and Hugo all sat together in the grass watching the fireworks. Rose hadn't left his side since dinner, which had successfully kept Louis far away from them. Albus was extremely grateful.

Later in the night someone started playing music. Albus smiled as he watched his mother and father dance around the backyard with all his aunts and uncles. His grandma and grandpa were dancing as well, although much slower, just swaying from side to side. They all looked so happy, and Albus realized that was all he wanted, someone to be happy with. Teddy and Victiore joined the couples dancing and everyone cheered again. Albus couldn't take his eyes off his brother and cousin. He was so happy for them, but he couldn't help feel jealous as well. Teddy was only 25 but he had already found the love of his life.

"Your time will come." Rose whispered in his ear. Albus looked at his and smiled, she knew him too well. He noticed she was also looking at the couples wistfully. Albus wondered, had Rosie thought Jeremy would be the love of her life? He didn't dare ask.

"Yours too." He replied. Rose smiled back at him and slung an arm over his shoulder.

As the night became later and later, slowly the group dwindled as everyone drifted back inside to sleep. Eventually it was just Albus, Rose, Lily and Hugo. Lily had just finished telling the story of how a student in her charms class had set their professor's mustache on fire. Everyone was laughing except for Hugo, and when they looked over they realized it was because he had fallen asleep on the lawn.

"I guess its time for bed." Lily said with a chuckle. She woke Hugo and stood up.

"You go ahead." Rose said, "We'll be in soon."

Lily shrugged and walked back inside the house, Hugo following her drowsily.

Albus and Rose were left alone, lying in the grass watching the stars overhead, feeling entirely comfortable in each others company, for the first time in a while. Albus thought that if he could just capture this feeling between him and Rose, everything would be fine. When it was just the two of them everything felt like it used to. It felt like they were best friends again, and he had been dying to tell Rose about Scorpius. He had been dying to be able to trust her again.

"Rosie?" Albus' voice broke the silence.

"Yeah?" Rose mumbled back. It was the quiet peaceful voice of a person who might at any moment drift off to sleep.

"I want to tell you something." Albus whispered. Then the silence returned. Rose didn't respond and Albus was afraid that she didn't want to here what he had to say.

Finally she asked. "Well… are you going to actually tell me?" She giggled and Albus took a deep breath.

"It's about Scorpius Malfoy."

Rose was silent for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Alright." She finally responded. But Albus couldn't find the words. He tried a couple of times before going silent again.

"Albus, I think I know what it is." Rose said, sounding resigned. "Just say it."

"I like him." Albus whispered, worried that somehow saying the words too loudly would make them worse.

"Okay." A soft voice replied. It was such a simple response that Albus could almost imagine it had come from the stars overhead. That they were comforting him and telling him that everything was okay.

Then he felt a hand grab his. Rose had grabbed his hand and was holing it tight.

"It's okay." She said. Albus turned to look at her, and she was smiling at him. Albus felt himself start to cry. Rose sat up and wrapped him in a hug.

"I don't know what I'm doing." Albus choked out. He had been waiting for weeks to let this out. His new life that seemed to bloom overnight was so perilous. He new friends were so flashy and fun, but would they last? Scorpius was mysterious and exhilarating but Albus was already convinced that the blond would break his heart. The parties and the drinking, it was exciting and dangerous, but was it what he even wanted?

"I'm so confused." Albus continued, looking at his cousin, hoping that she would have all the answers, like she used to.

"I'm always here for you." Rose smiled and squeezed her cousin's hand, "No matter what it is."

Albus started to cry harder. All the anxiety he had been holing onto began to melt away. He had Rose, he always had Rose. As long as she was with him, everything was going to be okay.


	20. Chapter 20

Time sure does fly when you're not updating your story. Oops...

* * *

><p>"ALBUS POTTER I AM TAKING BREAKFAST OFF THE TABLE IN FIVE MINUTES AND IF YOU DO NOT GET OUT OF BED I WILL MAKE YOU CLEAN THE ENTIRE HOUSE YOURSELF."<p>

Albus shot upright at the sound of his mother's outraged voice reverberating through the house. He quickly stumbled out of bed, threw on some clothes and thundered down the stairs. Albus could vaguely remember his mother trying to wake him up four or five times before but his bed had been too inviting, and his memory of Christmas day had been too fond to move past.

Today was the day after Christmas, which for the Potter household meant cleaning up after their thirty-some relatives had trashed it for two days straight.

Reaching the kitchen Albus saw that the rest of his family was already sitting at the table, although James was possibly asleep in his chair and Lily was glaring at her eggs as if it was their fault she had to be up so early. Harry was reading the paper, but glanced up as his son entered and gave him a small smile, "Sleep well?" he asked with a wink. Albus simply grunted in return.

He sank down into a chair and started to eat his toast. It was cold and there was no butter on it, but Albus knew better than to complain. Lily, however, apparently didn't.

"Why do we have to get up so early?" She whined. Their mother shot her a hard look.

"Because the earlier we start the earlier we can finish and all get on with our days." She replied. With a flourish she pulled a list out of her pocket.

"Harry will clean up the backyard and the garden. I will do the dining room and the kitchen. James you are responsible for the sitting room and the parlor." James didn't respond, and his eyes remained closed so Harry elbowed his son.

James started with a small yelp. "Wha- whats going on?" He asked confusedly.

"Sitting room and parlor, James." Ginny repeated tensely.

"Right…" James responded.

Their mother huffed but continued down her list. "Albus you are guest bedrooms, and Lily you are bathrooms."

Lily sighed angrily but didn't dare say a word.

"Alright," Ginny smiled, "Are we all ready?" No one responded, James was possibly asleep again.

"Lily, cleaning supplies are in the cupboard, Albus fresh linens are in the closet, and James, the broom is in the pantry."

At the sound of his name James sat up, "Broom?" He smiled sleepily. Harry chuckled at his eldest son. "It's the cleaning kind." He said quietly.

James frowned, "Man, I hate the cleaning kind."

Albus shoved down a couple sausages and then slowly trudged up the stairs, resigned to his task, but not happily. The one great disadvantage of hosting Christmas every year was the cleaning, both before and after. Ginny was a large believer in Christmas ending on the 25th and by midday on the 26th every trace of the festivities had to be gone.

He started by stripping all the beds and putting all the dirty sheets in a large pile in the hall. He then took the sheets down to wash and then, once they were clean, hung them to dry. While the sheets dried he went back into all the bedrooms and pulled forgotten belongings out of drawers and out from under beds. He found a few pairs of glasses, many partner-less socks and a few toys, courtesy of his younger cousins. He even found a large rubber duck, which must have belonged to his grandfather. He piled all these things in a small cardboard box and put them in the kitchen for his parents to eventually return to their rightful owners. Every Christmas at the Potter house tended to have a large pile of forgotten items. This was probably due to everyone rushing out as quickly as they could the morning after Christmas. Everyone knew that if you lingered too long his mother would put you to work. Normal people preferred to relax on their last vacation day, but Ginny Potter was not exactly normal, especially when it came to her house.

When Albus reached the kitchen he put down the box and was about to head back upstairs when he heard a sharp tapping on the back door. Albus walked over to open the door and once he did an enormous owl swooped in and landed on the faucet of the sink. Albus suspected a late Christmas card, probably from someone his father worked with, but he didn't recognize the owl. It was a beautiful great horned owl, with a pure white face and a deep brown coloring the rest of his feathers. He looked at Albus curiously.

"Dad, there's an owl." Albus called through the house. He then reached into cabinet that held the owl treats, and grabbed a couple to reward their guest. As the owl was eating Albus untied the letter he had on his leg.

He flipped the envelope over to read who had delivered it, but nothing was written except 'Albus Potter'. Albus' eyes widened, as he realized he already knew who it was from, he recognized the handwriting.

"Whose it from Al?" He dad asked as he entered the kitchen and reached his hand out for the envelope.

"Umm... it's actually for me." Albus said showing his father the front of the card.

"Well, whose it from?" His dad inquired, giving the large bird a wary look, "Not the family unless someone got a new owl for Christmas."

"I.. don't know." Albus replied, playing dumb.

Just then Ginny entered the kitchen, "What's going on boys?" she reprimanded, "The house isn't clean yet."

"Albus' got himself a very mysterious letter" Harry said with a chuckle, "Go ahead and open it son."

Albus ripped open the paper and pulled out a small card. In a familiar messy scrawl was written "Albus, Happy Christmas and all that. I've got a party planned for New Year's Eve. You can floo to my house around 10. Send a reply with Bruce (the bird). And it better be yes, I need someone to kiss at midnight."

Albus quickly shoved the card back in the envelope, trying his hardest not to freak out with his parents right in front of him.

"Well who was it from dear?" his mother asked a moment later.

"Scorpius." Albus replied. "He's having a new year's party on the 31st. Can I go?"

Harry was the first to reply. "I don't see why not. Same rules as last time, and I have no problem with it."

His mother however, wore a small frown. "We are all going over to Bill and Fleur's house on New Year's Eve. The whole family, Albus."

Bill and Fleur's. That meant Louis would be there. Spending the entire night with his pompous showy cousin sounded awful. Albus sent a look at his father, silently begging.

Thankfully Harry picked up on it. "Come on Gin, give him a night to be with his friends. James and Lily have plans every day this week."

Albus gritted his teeth, his father was trying to convince his mother by pointing out how rare it was that Albus was invited out by friends, but the argument worked. Ginny resigned and agreed, before reminding them all they still had a house to clean. Harry winked at his son, before leaving to continue his duties.

Albus grabbed a scrap of paper and a quill out of a drawer, and wrote "yes". He attached the scrap to the owl, which was still attached to his kitchen sink, and then opened the door. The owl, which was apparently named Bruce, sailed out the door immediately. Albus watched him go for a moment before closing the door and heading back up the stairs, fearful of his mother's wrath if she noticed him loitering. As he was about to enter a bedroom, Lily poked her head out of a bathroom.

"Did my ears deceive me?" she asked, "Are you going to another party with Scorpius?" She noticed the letter and snatched it out of his hand before he could even reply.

She opened it and quickly read the note before squealing.

"Shut it!" Albus snatched the note back, and shoved it in his pocket.

"Holy crap!" She whispered, still partially bouncing from her excitement. "He's totally into you."

Albus was about to respond when they heard their mother coming up the stairs. "Later." Lily mouthed before ducking back into the bathroom.

Albus went back to making beds, which suddenly seemed a much less arduous task. And from time to time he couldn't help grinning like an idiot to himself.

* * *

><p>The rest of the week seemed to drag as slow as possible. Rose came over almost everyday. It had been impossible to keep the news from her, and as soon as Lily mentioned the letter it had been impossible to keep that from her as well. Albus would never forget the look on her face when she read the note from Scorpius. Her eyebrows practically disappeared into her hairline.<p>

"Well, that's… forward of him." She said, handing the note back, and Albus slipped it back under his mattress. Albus decided not to tell her that his note really wasn't that forward when you took into account how far they had already gone together.

"So… you guys have kissed already?" She asked him a couple hours after.

"Yeah." Albus replied quietly. And that was the last they talked about it.

There was also a small riot caused when Scorpius sent another owl on the 29th, with the message, "Don't you dare leave at 1:00 this time, the party wont even start till the new year."

Albus spent the next 2 days convincing his parents, that sleeping over at Scorpius' house would be no big deal, because they would just be sleeping most of the time, and there was absolutely no trouble he could get in while sleeping. His parents obviously didn't believe him.

"If you want to spend more time with your friends, just go earlier." His father reasoned.

"DAD!" Albus complained, "It's a new year's party, we're celebrating the NEW YEAR. And it wont be the NEW YEAR until midnight."

It had taken a lot of pleading and even some guilting until his parents finally caved.

When New Year's Eve finally arrived the Potter family gathered in the living room at 5pm for one last lecture.

"Don't do anything you don't want to." His mother reminded him.

"And floo home if you ever feel uncomfortable." His father said for the 100th time.

"Make smart choices." His mother added.

"I will, I promise." Albus smiled and kissed his mother and father as, they flooed to his aunt and uncle's house. James followed without a word, or even a glance at his little brother. Lily was the last to leave. She stepped into the fireplace, and waved goodbye to her brother, "Make sure you wear clean underwear." She said with a laugh.

"LILY!" Albus yelled at her, but she was already gone, and just a few green sparks remaining.

Albus waited a moment, and then sighed in relief. He ran upstairs and quickly unpacked the overnight bag his mother had made him pack. He remembered Christmas and no one had changed into pajamas or brushed their teeth before passing out on the floor. Albus didn't want to be the dork whose mummy made him bring his hairbrush and extra underwear.  
>Then, remembering Lily's advice, Albus decided he should change, and decide what he was going to wear.<p>

After going through his entire closet twice, Albus confirmed he had absolutely nothing to wear. He went into James' room to see if his brother had anything better. He only had to try on one shirt before remembering that his brother had about 4 inches on him and was much larger in general. He even considered going into Lily's room before he stopped himself. Albus may be gay, but he didn't need to start cross-dressing to prove it.

Finally after an hour and a half of searching Albus decided on a dark blue t-shirt and a pair of black jeans, they were plain, but at least they were clean, and didn't belong to his sister. After wasting another half hour trying to do something, anything, to his hair, and then giving up, he just had a few hours to kill around his house before leaving. First he made himself a sandwich and ate it. Then he did all the dishes in the sink. Then he went upstairs, made his bed, and organized his closet that he had torn apart earlier. By the time 10 o'clock rolled around Albus was bouncing off the walls.

He flooed to the Malfoy's as soon as the clock struck 10.

He appeared in the same overly lavish room as before, but somehow it still surprised him by how decorated it was. A moment after he appeared he heard laughter and yelling coming from the other room. He followed the noise, and it led him to the kitchen. Everyone was already there, and they probably had been there awhile, if Albus went by how drunk they all seemed. They were crowded around a table with a deck of cards and a few brightly colored bottles. Even after he entered no one seemed to notice his presence.

After a minute of watching their ridiculous antics Albus finally spoke up.

"Hey guys."

* * *

><p>Scorpius turned when he heard the familiar voice across the room. And smiled when he recognized the familiar face.<p>

"Albus" The girls seemed to shout in unison, as they all went over to hug him.

"You're late." Scorpius called from across the kitchen.

They all gathered back around the table.

"I'm not late, you told me 10." Albus countered.

"Did I?" Scorpius laughed. He had that warm feeling all over his body that he got when he drank too much rum, and he had put back a lot of rum in the last hour.

"Here," Jaysen poured a shot and pushed it across the counter, "You're gonna need at least five of these before we can go."

Albus downed it, his face twisting up afterwards. Scorpius chuckled; he always seemed to forget what a goody-goody the Gryffindor was.

"Before we go? Where are we going?" Albus asked.

"To Madeline Bouchard's party." Jaysen stated, before handing him another drink.

Albus downed that one more easily than the first. Once he swallowed he continued his line of questioning. "Madeline Bouchard? Who the heck is that? Scorpius, you said that the party was here." Albus shot a look at Scorpius who just grinned in response.

"Madeline Bouchard is one of Jaysen's acquaintancesfrom his days at Beauxbaton. Her parents are traveling and so she is throwing a party." Scorpius explained.

"But, my parents think I will be here!" Albus' voice was strained, "What if they come looking for me?"

"Albus, Albus, chill out. You're parents aren't expecting you home until tomorrow, they aren't going to come looking. I knew you were too perfect of a child to ever lie to them, so I figured I would do the lying for you. Trust me we're gonna have a lot of fun tonight." Scorpius smiled and then winked, loving the other boy's reaction. Albus blushed slightly before resigning his argument.

"Good, well if that's settled, how bout another round?"

* * *

><p>Not too long after Albus was feeling very light headed. He was swaying back and forth and laughing a little too loudly at Andrew who was trying to convince Tess that men were as a rule better at apparating than women.<p>

"It's just the way it is." Andrew slurred. "Men can concentrate on one thing, but women, they just always have a million little things on their brain. That's why they are more likely to get splinched."

Before Tess even had a chance to respond, Albus felt a hand grab his. He turned to see Stephanie, who was now trying to pull him out of the room.

"Where are we going?" Albus asked her, extremely confused.

Stephanie just smiled and then announced to the entire room, "Albus and I are ready to go. Go ahead and join us when you're all done standing around a kitchen and being boring." Then she dragged him out of the room. Albus couldn't help but glance back at Scorpius. The blonde seemed amused by it all and gave Albus a little wave.

When they were out of the room, Albus turned his attention back to Stephanie.  
>"Why are we leaving first?" Albus asked her, while still being dragged down the hall.<p>

"Well first off, if I didn't do something everyone would just be standing around watching Drew and Tess fight all night, and as entertaining as that may be I have a hot Frenchman to meet up with."

"You have a date?" Albus asked, curious. He didn't know that Stephanie was interested in someone.

"It's a friend of Jaysen's that he introduced me to last week. It's not really a date, more of a prospect. Anyway, the second reason is that you need to start the chase this time."

Now Albus was extremely confused. "What chase?"

"Last time you were here, Scorpius left and you had to go find him right? It was your job to chase. This time you have to make him chase you, trust me. Scor will make you follow him around like a lost puppy if you let him. We've got to keep him on his toes." She turned back and winked at the Gryffindor. "Don't worry Albus, he loves it, I promise."

They had arrived back to the fireplace in which Albus had arrived.

"I'll go first." Stephanie said, grabbing a handful of powder, "Just repeat after me, the name of the place is French so say it carefully."

After watching her disappear Albus grabbed his own handful of powder and tried to repeat exactly what he had heard Stephanie say before throwing the dust down at his feet.

The next thing he could see was the parlor of an equally as grand house as the one he just left.

"Come on Al." Stephanie pulled him out of the fireplace and dragged him through the room, which was empty except for a few teens lounging on couches in the far wall.

"Losers." He heard Steph mutter. "People who hang out in the floo room shouldn't even bother showing up."

Albus said nothing, because the only thing he could think to say was that the only room to hang out in his house WAS the "floo room" as Steph had called it.

As they left the parlor they entered into a hallway where they could hear the loud raucous of a party. Steph dragged him down the hall to the source of the noise.

"Aren't we going to wait for everyone else?" Albus asked nervously.

"They'll find us. Don't worry." Steph shot him a smile before pushing him into the grandest ballroom he had ever seen. The candles that lit the room in an eerie glow had been bewitched to change colors. There was music playing, although it was almost drowned out by the yelling of over 100 people packed into the room.

Albus looked over to the pseudo dance floor warily.

Steph noticed and laughed, "There's plenty of time for dancing, I know how you love it." Albus shot back a look that communicated that he was not amused.

"Fine, drinks first anyways." Steph pointed to the far end of the room, where a table overflowed with cups and cauldrons of Merlin knows what. Steph finally let go of his arm and started walking away towards the table.

Albus sighed, what choice did he have? He followed her.

* * *

><p>When Scorpius arrived at the French mansion the first thing he noticed was that it was not as large as his own. He walked out of the fireplace and into the floo room, pleasantly surprised that the décor and furniture were not nearly as historic or well kept as at his house. Moments later Jaysen appeared behind him, then Sullivan.<p>

"One minute, Wendy's right after me." Sullivan said.

"Drew and Tess?" Scorpius asked.

"Dunno, they said they would come later."

Jaysen and Scorpius both rolled their eyes.

"They better not have sex in the kitchen." Scorpius grumbled.

"The house-elves will clean it up anyway." Wendy said, suddenly appearing behind them. "Come on, let's get out of the floo room before someone see's us." She shot a disdainful look at the people sitting in the corner of the room, "Ugh, losers."

Making their way out into the hallway the three headed towards the loud sounds.

Jaysen kept stopping to say hello to people he knew and Wendy kept getting stopped by boys who wanted to get to know her.

When they finally made it down the hall and into the large ballroom Wendy immediately looked around for their friends.

"I don't see Albus and Steph." She pouted, "They only came like 5 minutes before us."

"Well we might not have seen them, but everyone else has." Jaysen responded, "That's all people are talking about, the fact that Harry Potter's son is here."

"What?" Wendy asked, looking astonished. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Because I speak French dear." Jaysen answered.

"Oh right…" Wendy looked around and it was only a moment before she met eyes with boy who had been staring at her since she came in.

"Well I'm off to dance, I'll see you boys later."

Scorpius watched her walk off, amazed as always at how quickly Wendy could wrap boys around her finger.

"This doesn't really look like my scene." Sullivan said a moment later. "I think I'll go see what's going on upstairs." Then he too disappeared.

"I'm afraid I'm off too mate." Jaysen said as he clapped Scorpius on the shoulder. "Lots of catching up to do."

Once Scorpius was alone, he started glancing around the party himself. He quickly noticed there were plenty of girls staring at him too and it was only a matter of minutes before someone he recognized approached.

"Scorpius!" The young girl squealed. "I was hoping you would be here."

"Hello Marguerite." The girl came and kissed him on both cheeks.

"I'm pleasantly surprised to see you all alone." She said quietly, doing her best to bat her eyes at him.

Scorpius smiled pleasantly, but internally mocked the girl for how desperate she seemed. Last summer his family had taken a trip to vacation in France. He had met a lot of Beauxbaton girls on that trip, and slept with a lot of them too. Marg had been one of his favorites; she was cute and liked to have a good time, but he really hadn't planned on seeing her again.

"How have you been?" He asked, shooting her the most sincere smile he could manage.

It must have worked because the girl seemed to melt in front of him. "Great, I'm glad the term is over though, I hate school, I wish there were more parties at school than classes."  
>Scorpius couldn't help but chuckle, that was Marguerite alright, extremely hot, not too smart.<p>

"Oh, have you heard?" she suddenly lowered her voice and leaned into him, "Albus Potter is here!"

"You don't say." Scorpius feigned surprise.

"Yes, he arrived a little bit ago, following around Stephanie Blanc. You know her don't you? Anyway, no one knows how he got invited. His cousins go to Beauxbaton, but even they aren't here tonight, so it really doesn't make any sense."

"Probably that Stephanie girl brought him." Scorpius said, seemingly uninterested.  
>"I guess, but since when do Potters hang out with Hogwarts Slytherins?"<p>

Scorpius shrugged. "Did you talk to him?" Scorpius asked.

"What, no way." Marguerite giggled, "Wait till you see him, he looks like his mom dressed him, and he's following that girl around like a puppy. He looks so uncomfortable. But, I mean I guess that what happens when you come to a party where you don't know anyone. I wish it was his brother instead, I heard he is hot."

Scorpius scanned the crowd again, hoping to see the Gryffindor. He didn't like what Marg was insinuating, that Albus was awkward and unwanted. Scorpius was sure that the moment Albus saw him the boy would loosen up.

"Looking for someone Mr. Malfoy?" A soft voice behind him purred. Scorpius turned and smiled.

"Trix, I was wondering when I was going to see you."

Beatrix D'Aramitz was the Queen B of Beauxbaton. Being half veela made her incredibly gorgeous and she also had a ruthless attitude about her that Scorpius couldn't help but admire. Jaysen had been trying to get her attention for years but she never paid him much.

"Hi Beatrix." Marguerite offered sheepishly. Beatrix glared at the girl and spat out something in French that caused the other girl to run off.

Scorpius chuckled, "Still as in control as ever I see. But you didn't have to scare her off like that, I didn't even get to say goodbye."

Beatrix sighed, and flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder, "Why on earth would you want to spend the night with an idiot like Marguerite Favre? A piece of seaweed has a better personality." Suddenly Beatrix looked up at Scorpius with a knowing look that gave him shivers. "Besides, you came here with someone else in mind didn't you?"

Scorpius shrugged and looked around the room, nonchalantly but Beatrix was having none of it.

"I'm talking about Albus Potter, don't play dumb, everyone knows." She grinned at him.

"Marg didn't seem to know." Scorpius responded. Beatrix just sighed.

"Are we still talking about her? Marguerite is an imbecile. Everyone with a brain knows about you and Potter."

"And what exactly is it that you know?" Scorpius questioned, eyeing the girl up and down. He had to admit it was a very pleasant sight.

"That you and your little friends have been toting the Potter boy around like some sort of side show and that you, Mr. Malfoy might actually have a romantic interest in the situation." She clearly wanted Scorpius to spill something and he could feel himself slowly becoming more and more open to the idea of telling Trix everything she wanted to hear.

Damn it! He hated veela and this was why.

He glared at her, "Stop that!"

"Stop what?" She asked innocently.

"Using your freaky veela powers on me." He responded. She just giggled lightly.

"Its not my fault if I happen to be very persuasive." She tutted lightly, "No come on dear, I have to know, what is going on between you and the Potter boy?"

"Nothing." He said at first, Trix clearly wasn't impressed so he continued, "Nothing serious, I'm just playing around with him."

"Everyone's been wondering what the Potter boy could have done to turn womanizer Scorpius Malfoy gay." She smiled sweetly but her eyes were ferocious, he knew there was no way he was getting away from her without answering some questions first.

"Well, I'm not gay." He said quickly.

"What, bisexual then? Or just "experimenting" for now?"

"Let's just say Hogwarts was running out of eligible women." Scorpius replied, "At least, ones I hadn't gotten bored with."

"You want me to believe that you had no more girls to fuck so you run off to date Albus Potter, the loner loser of the Gryffindor house? Sounds like a downgrade to me." The sweet smile she kept on her face while spewing nasty rumors terrified Scorpius.

"We aren't dating. Just hooking up." Scorpius didn't really know why he felt the need to defend himself, but something about Trix's attitude made it seem like she was talking down to him, and he didn't like it.

"Oh really?" She grinned and leaned into him closer. "Are you planning on hooking up tonight?"

"Yes, in fact we are." Scorpius replied, "Why, jealous?"

"Not quite. In fact, I just thought I would warn you." She practically purred in his ear. "Look around you Scorpius, all the witches and wizards in this room are soon to be the richest, beautiful and most influential that this world has to offer, except one, Albus Potter. You're one of us right now. Everyone knows you. Every guy in this room wants to be you. You have the Slytherin house and all the girls at Hogwarts under your thumb. You're powerful. If everyone here sees your kiss some awkward nobody at midnight that could all change. Do you really want to be seen with him, some shaggy haired geek? It'll ruin your image. It'll ruin your life Scorpius."

By the end it felt as if she was chanting in his ear. The words she was saying seemed like a spell, or more like a curse.

"Forget him Scorpius, I can offer you much more." Suddenly Trix had her body pressed up against his and she was clutching his arm tightly. "It's only a little while until midnight Malfoy," She whispered, "What are you going to do, run off and find your little boyfriend, or dance with me?"

"Oh come on Trix. Jaysen has been after you forever. Go find him if you're so desperate."

"Jaysen's hooking up with someone else tonight, he wont mind. Besides, I want you. I've heard the stories, I want to see if you're really as great as they say."

Scorpius tried to think about something other than Beatrix's words and the fact that he could feel her body pressed up against his. He knew she was tricking him, but he also wondered why he was trying to fight it so much. The most beautiful girl at the party was coming on to him, normally Scorpius wouldn't think twice. Was it because of Albus?  
>I don't owe him anything, Scorpius reminded himself. I'm not dating the guy, I can do whatever I want. It's not like I'm cheating on him.<p>

"Scorpius, I'm waiting." Trix hissed, "And I won't wait long."

Scorpius looked down at her and decided. "Come on, let's go dance."

* * *

><p>"You know, I never thought I would be saying this Albus, but maybe you should take it a little easy on that drink." Wendy offered.<p>

Albus looked down at his glass and was surprised to see it already empty. Hadn't he just poured it? When did that happen?

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He replied. His lips felt slow and heavy when he spoke. He glanced up at the large clock that was hanging down from the center of the ballroom for the hundredth time. Ten minutes until midnight.

"Maybe I should go look for him." Albus offered, again.

Wendy just shook her head nervously. "No, he'll be here." She said.

"You seemed more confident the last time you said that." Albus pointed out.

About twenty minutes ago Wendy had found him and Stephanie standing off to the side of the party. Steph had basically handed him over to Wendy, and ran off with the boy that Jaysen had introduced her too. Albus knew he was being a pain, but he also didn't really know how to act at this party. He had only come because Scorpius invited him and now the prick was nowhere to be found.

"Maybe we should go dance." Wendy offered, "We can see more people from over there." She said pointing at the dance floor.

"Wendy, you don't have to babysit me all night." He answered sheepishly. "I know you would rather find someone to kiss at midnight."

"If Scorpius doesn't show up I'm kissing you!" Wendy said, dragging him towards the dancing mob.

Before they had even taken two steps Tess and Andrew appeared out of the mob. Tess spotted them and ran over, while Andrew trailed behind her.

"Wendy!" she yelled. "Wendy this is bad!"

Tess ran up and cupped her hands around Wendy's ear, whispering something.

Wendy's eyes widened, "He wouldn't." she gasped. "Has anyone tried to stop him?"

"Jaysen approached him but it didn't work." Andrew cut in. "They told him to fuck off."

"That fucking bitch!" Wendy yelled again, "I fucking hate her."

Albus knew that he was drunk but thought that even sober he wouldn't have been able to follow the conversation.

"Guys what's going on?" He asked. But before anyone had the chance to explain Stephanie came running out of the crowd as well.

"You guys!" She exclaimed.

"We know." The rest chorused back.

"I'll kill him!" Steph growled, "That motherfucking idiot."

"Are you guys talking about Scorpius?" Albus' face lit up. "Did you find him?"

No one responded, but they looked at Albus uneasily.

"What are we going to do?" Tess asked.

"Maybe we should just get him out of here." Andrew offered quietly, glancing over at Albus.

"No way!" Wendy shot back, "This isn't his fault."

They continued bickering around him, and Albus continued feeling more and more confused. He glanced up at the clock again and saw that there were only two more minutes until midnight. He might not know exactly what was going on, but he did know that Scorpius was in some kind of trouble. Maybe he needed Albus!

Suddenly determined Albus pushed past all his friends and made his way towards the dance floor.

"No, wait Albus come back!" He heard one of the girls yell.

A moment later he was surrounded by people. They were all moving and bumping into him from all sides. Soon Albus was all turned around. He looked back and couldn't see his friends anywhere. He kept turning until he saw something familiar, a tall blonde off to his left. Albus was sure it was Scorpius. There was less than a minute to midnight, it had to be him. He pushed his way towards the blonde head and when he got close enough his heart began to pound, it was Scorpius! But he wasn't alone. Albus stopped in his tracks, when he saw that with Scorpius was a beautiful blonde girl. They were dancing together, their bodies pressed up against one another. Their faces were inches apart. She said something to him and he laughed. She twirled her hips and he grabbed her ass. Albus thought he was going to be sick.

A hand grabbed onto his shoulder. It was Wendy.

"Come on." She said, "Let's go. You don't want to be here."

The music came to an abrupt stop and someone started to count down from 10.

Everyone stopped dancing and started chanting the numbers.

"10…9…8"

Albus watched Scorpius stop dancing. He looked up and saw Albus.

"7…6…5"

Scorpius' eyes widened while Albus' narrowed.

"4…3…2"

The girl that Scorpius was with turned and when she saw Albus she just grinned.

"1… HAPPY NEW YEAR"

The girl turned back to Scorpius and leaned into him, grabbing the back of his neck. Without any hesitation Scorpius pressed their lips together. It wasn't a quick kiss. They began to snog whole-heartedly and Albus had to turn away. Wendy was still standing there. She grabbed him and wrapped him in a hug, and then kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm sorry that wasn't the kiss you had in mind." She said. Then she was grabbing him by the hand and pulling him out of the mob of snogging teenagers, back to where the rest of their friends were standing.

"We're leaving." Stephanie announced as soon as she saw them. They followed her out of the ballroom and back into the floo room. The walk seemed like an eternity, and Albus felt like he had a million pounds weighing down on his shoulders. When they finally reached the fireplace Albus panicked.

"No, wait. I can't go home!" he realized, "My parents will want to know what happened, and I'm drunk! I'll be murdered!"

"You're not going home," Tess told him. Albus' face darkened.

"Well there's no way in hell I'm going back _there._" He said angrily. No one needed any clues to know he was talking about Scorpius' house.

"Don't worry your coming home with me." Tess said.

"I'm coming." Wendy said. She still hadn't let go of Albus' hand.

"Yeah me too." Stephanie decided.

"I better make sure the wanker gets home eventually." Andrew sighed, looking miserable. "Maybe I can find Sullivan and get him to help me."

"Help you what? Hide his body?" Tess joked. Andrew chuckled and kissed her softly. "I'll see you later," he said. Then he turned around and walked back out of the room.

Albus sighed, "I ruined everything." He moaned. "I'm so sorry."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. She grabbed Albus' shoulders and shook the boy. "This is not your fault ok?" She told him.

"But Steph, you were supposed to hook up with some cute French guy, and Tess I ruined your night with Andrew. And Wendy, you could have chosen any guy in this whole place, instead you're babysitting sad, pathetic Albus Potter."

"Oh stop being such a sad sack." Wendy grumbled. "We're not gonna let this change anything. We're just going to have to fight fire with fire."

The three girls all grinned at one another.

Albus did not like the sound of that.


	21. Chapter 21

I hope you like the new chapter. If you don't like fanfiction cliques or makeovers, maybe you should just skip this chapter. I happen to love both and had probably too much fun writing this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Albus awoke to three girls staring down at him.<p>

"AAAGH!" He yelled, and toppled off of the couch that he had been laying on.

"Well good morning to you too." Stephanie laughed as Albus picked himself up off the floor.

Tess tossed him a small bottle that he recognized and the potion Sullivan had gave him last time he had drank with the Slytherins. Albus quickly drank it down, but realized that it didn't have the same effects as last time. His head felt clear but his attitude did not reflect the change. He still felt lethargic and depressed.

"No potion for rejection and betrayal huh?" He asked. Each girl reacted differently. Wendy pouted, Tess laughed and Steph just rolled her eyes.

"God spare us, no more being a sad sack, we got enough of that last night." Steph complained. Albus tried to think back to the night before, after they had arrived at Tess' house, he drunkenly recounted over and over what had happened, what he did wrong, what could have gone differently. Albus was pretty sure he had cried at one point too. Not his finest hour.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I should just go home." Albus began looking for his shoes, but Tess stopped him.

"Not so fast there Gryffindor." She smirked, "We're not done with you quite yet. Last night after you passed out, we stayed up talking and we came up with a perfect solution to your current predicament." Albus had no idea what she was talking about, but didn't like the idea of the three scheming at all.

"I thought I already told you guys." Albus sighed, "I'm done. I want out. This may be normal for you guys, all the mind tricks and games but I cant take it. If Scorpius doesn't want me then I don't want to pine over him and beg for scraps, I'd rather be alone again."

Albus located his shoes next to the couch and began to put them on when Tess interrupted him again.  
>"What if we could make Scorpius pine over YOU?" she said, sitting down on the couch next to him. The other two joined each sharing an equally devious smile on their face.<p>

Albus just shook his head, "That would be a miracle." He said, "And I don't believe in miracles."

"We're not talking about miracles," Wendy got up and crouched in front of Albus. "We're talking about a make-over."

* * *

><p>The girls managed to get Albus to floo Tess' Dad's shop in Knockturn Alley. They dragged him all the way to Diagon Alley. They even got him to the Leaky Cauldron but when they tried to get him to into the back room of the pub Albus finally dug his toes in.<p>

"Let's just say I do believe in this plan," Albus said, "Which for the record I don't! I don't understand why we have to go to London. There are plenty of the shops in Diagon Alley to choose from."

"Oh please." Tess laughed, "We're not looking for wizard fashion. Muggle fashion is all the rage right now, and I know some fabulous shops in London, we go there all the time."

"But I don't even have any muggle money." Albus complained

Stephanie waved his words off and pulled a small plastic card out of her bag. "That doesn't matter, I have this."

"What is it?" Albus took Muggle Studies, but it was more of a history class, he didn't know much of how muggles lived today.

"It's called a credit card." Stephanie replied. "You hand it over when its time to pay. They use it like money."

"But how does it work?" Albus asked staring at the card in amazement.

"Oh, I don't know, all I know is that it works. Now, come on!"

"But, I can't let you pay for everything." Albus retorted stubbornly.

"I'm not paying for anything dear, my father is, and I hate my father so you're really doing me a favor. Now no more complaints."

He followed the girls into the back room of the pub and stood by as Stephanie tapped the appropriate bricks with her wand. He contemplated whether he was making the right choice. Waking up this morning Albus had been thoroughly convinced that he never wanted another thing to do with Scorpius Malfoy, but in less than an hour these girls had wrapped him up in their make over plan. Apparently, all he had to do was change his image, be a little less bookworm and little more bad boy. Steph promised that that if he paired a hot new look with a bold new attitude Scorpius would be eating out of his hand. Albus ended up going along with the idea mostly so he wouldn't have to go home yet. He also was convinced that no matter what they girls had up their sleeve he would never be considered "hot".

As the brick wall rearranged itself Albus began to regret his decision, was he just prolonging his pain by continuing to play their game?

Wendy looked back at him and reached out her hand. "Come on Albus, this is going to be fun!"

* * *

><p>"No, absolutely not, there is no way." Clothes were one thing, but his hair? They would butcher it! His mom had cut his hair from the day he was born. It was unruly and wild and she never tried to style it, more like contain it.<p>

The four of them had taken a cab from the muggle-side entrance to the Leaky Cauldron into the heart of the city. Albus had been so busy taking in all the sights that he hadn't even noticed when they pulled up in front of a hair salon.

"Don't worry Albus." Tess assured him, "I come here all the time, Dylan is a god. He'll make you look amazing!"

"Seriously Albus, you are hiding behind all that hair! It has to go!" Steph announced.

Albus glanced at his reflection in the storefront window. He gave a resigned sigh at what he saw. The girls were right, there was nothing attractive about him. No matter what this Dylan guy did it couldn't be any worse than what he looked like right now.

"Fine." He grumbled while the girls cheered.

As soon as they entered a large man approached them.

"Tess, my god it's been ages!" He said, giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek. He grabbed the ends of her hair and inspected them. "And not a split end in sight, I do not know how you do it my dear, its like magic." It was then that he noticed Albus.

"My god, you weren't kidding were you, this is a mess." He walked over and ran his fingers through Albus' hair. "At least its healthy." He gave the hair a tug "Strong too." Albus cleared his throat and the large man looked down at him.

"God, excuse me. I'm Dylan. And you can only be Albus. Tess told me all about your boy troubles. Well do not worry my friend you have come to the right place. I'm going to have you walking out of here looking so hot that even Adonis would take a second look. Now why don't you just follow me."

Dylan led them back past the reception desk and to what Albus could only assume to be his work station. He sat Albus down while the girls gathered round and discussed what had to be done to the boy's hair.

Wendy pulled some magazines out of her bag and flipped to pages that she must have marked in advance. The girls and Dylan huddled round the page pointing and discussing each different style.

Albus kept leaning over and trying to see what they were looking at, but Wendy would always pull it away. "It's a surprise!" She giggled. Albus was not amused. She flipped another page and Dylan exclaimed. "That's it! I've found it my inspiration! It will be gorgeous." The girls examined the magazine and then all looked back at Albus. Slowly each one of them nodded and smiled.

"Perfect." Steph said.

"Great, lets get you all washed up then!" Dylan pulled Albus out of the chair and down the hall to a row of chairs in front of large sinks. Albus sat down where Dylan indicated and waited as the man put down towels and collected various bottles to use on his hair.

"Now just lean back. You'll like this part I promise."

Albus almost wanted to ask what was so great about having your hair washed, but a moment later he knew. Dylan expertly moved his hands through Albus' hair and massaged his scalp, leaning Albus practically in a puddle.

"Wow…" Albus mumbled a few minutes later. He was pretty sure that he had floated away on a cloud and was just now returning to earth.

Dylan chuckled and started to rinse out Albus' hair. "I tend to have that affect on men." Albus opened his eyes and stared at Dylan, confused for a moment. Dylan just winked and continued on. "When Tess called me this morning and told me your situation I cancelled my other appointments. I really feel for you Albus. I've dated some assholes in my day and the key is to not let them get you down. When you see them again you have to look fiercer than ever and show them what they are missing!"

"Wait, you're g-gay?" Albus asked.

It was Dylan's turn to stare now. He seemed surprised that Albus was surprised. A moment later however he laughed it off. "You know I've never had someone express disbelief when I told them that." He mused, "Most people refer to me as 'flaming', but you and Tess go to that tiny little boarding school, must being pretty sheltered there huh?"

Albus replied after a moment, "I guess you could say that." He paused a moment to think about it. "I don't think I've really talked to many gay people in my life though. I mean I don't know how you can tell when someone is gay."

"It's just a sense," Dylan said with a grin, "I have an excellent gaydar, that is gay-radar. But some people can be harder than others."

Dylan finished rinsing out Albus' hair and started to towel it off. He looked down at Albus and seemed to think for a moment before saying, "I know I don't know you, but I just wanted to tell you that if you have any questions, I mean it can be confusing if you have no one to talk to…" Dylan trailed off.

Albus' eyes lit up. "Really? That would be great!"

Dylan looked taken aback by Albus' enthusiasm, but after a moment he gave a small smile. "Alright then, let's go get this hair cut and you can ask me anything."

Dylan led him back to the chair, where the girls were still excitedly looking at the magazine.

Tess glanced up, "Oh, I like the sexy out-of-the-shower look."

Albus rolled his eyes and sat, while Dylan wrapped a thin plastic sheet around his neck. He picked up a pair of sheers. "Here we go."

Albus was glad that Dylan was such a talker, it helped to distract him from the very extreme haircut he was receiving. Every so often he would glance at the ground and shiver as the pile of hair grew larger and larger. Albus' hair wasn't particularly long, but it was incredibly thick and after not too long the pile on the floor could have easily made him a wig to wear if the whole haircut thing went awry.

Albus had asked Dylan about his past relationships, and Dylan was excitedly telling him about him the time he had met a guy in Fiji.

"I took a holiday there because I heard how beautiful the country was but I hardly got out of bed the whole time." Dylan laughed loudly.

"Oh no, did you get sick?" Albus asked, he had heard that the water quality in other countries could be less than desirable.

Dylan laughed again loudly, although Albus didn't see why being sick was funny.

"No he's serious." Tess told Dylan. She then turned to Albus, "He means they never stopped having sex." She said quiet loudly, but Dylan didn't seem concerned. In fact he looked at Albus with a hint of pity.

"Oh right…" Albus muttered, wishing he could sink down into his chair, but there was a pair of very sharp scissors near his head, so he didn't dare move.

"I take it you're a virgin then…" Dylan continued, causing Albus to blush.

"Oh, it's nothing to be embarrassed about." Dylan said quickly, "You're only what, 16? That's very young, especially for gay men. Lots of guys don't even come out until their late teens or even their twenties."

"Albus isn't even out yet." Wendy chimed in, though Albus wish she hadn't.

Dylan stopped cutting. "What?"

"Yeah he hasn't told his parents. Everyone at school knows but only because his cousin promised to keep it a secret and then told everyone."

"Oh dear…" Dylan said quietly. "That's awful."

"Oh yeah," Wendy continued, "And then his homophobic roommates beat him up for it and-"

"Wendy! Stop!" Albus interrupted her. Wendy's eyes widened and she glanced at Albus anxiously.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking!" She said earnestly.

Albus nodded, "It's ok."

Stephanie and Tess both looked extremely uncomfortable, while Dylan looked horrified.

"Is that really true?" He gasped.

"It was a while ago." Albus replied, "I don't like to talk about it anymore. My cousin and I made up, so I don't like to dwell on it."

"Oh my god, you poor thing!" Dylan said. "No wonder you don't want to tell your parents!"

"What do you mean?" Albus asked.

"Well, I mean someone forcibly pushed you out of the proverbial closet and that's enough to scar anyone." Dylan picked his sheers back up and continued cutting as he spoke. "But then to have the negative reaction of your peers, who seem more relatable because they are your same age and go to your same school, that's incredibly difficult. Now it makes you feel like your parents will never understand. And someone who is as sheltered as you, no offense, well I can only assume that you have always been the good boy in your parents eyes and you're terrified to upset them."

Albus sat staring at Dylan through the mirror. "How do you do that?" He asked incredulously.

"Being a stylist is half hair, half therapy. Trust me, you should here all the daddy issues that this one comes to me with." He said pointing to Tess. Tess just shrugged.

"So… what do you think I should do?" Albus asked a moment later.

"Is your family homophobic?" Dylan asked.

"Not that I've ever seen." Albus replied, "But like I said, I don't know any gay people really."

"Do you usually talk about your problems with them?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah." Albus replied, "My mom can be tough, but she gives the best advice. And my dad is a great listener, and he always makes times for my brothers and sister and me. I've never really lied to them up until recently."

"My advice, don't wait until you think it will be more painful for them than it is for you. What I mean is, your parents love you, and they don't want you to be struggling with it alone. The longer you hide it the worse they will feel when you finally come out. I remember when I told my mom she cried because she thought the only reason I would keep it from her was fear that I would be rejected, and it made her so upset that I didn't know she would love me unconditionally."

Albus had to chuckle, "That sort of sounds like my dad. He gets all misty eyed sometimes when he talks about unconditional love and stuff."

"I really think you have nothing to worry about." Dylan answered sincerely. "But you can still take your time. I only told my parents when I got into my first serious relationship. I was just scared of the transition period; you know when everyone walks on eggshells around you, afraid of somehow saying the wrong thing. But the truth is, the sooner you tell everyone the sooner they can all get over it and you can get back to your life."

Albus thought that what Dylan was saying made a lot of sense. He had to suspend reality to come up with some sort of terrible "you're no son of mine" or "get out of my house" type reaction from his parents.  
>"Thanks Dylan that really helps." Albus smiled.<p>

Dylan smiled back and then put down his sheers again and grabbed something else out of a drawer.

Then he spun Albus' chair around. "I want the final product to be a surprise." He said. In his hand was an electric razor. He turned it on and it buzzed menacingly.

"What are you going to do with that?" Albus asked, terrified.

"Don't worry we're just going to shave the sides." Dylan said reassuringly.

"SHAVE?!" Albus yelped. "You can't shave my head!" He insisted.

"Just the sides Al." Steph repeated, "Here, look." She handed him the magazine they had been looking at earlier.

Albus had to admit that the model in the magazine was very hot, but that was probably mostly due to his chiseled face and piercing eyes, not because of his haircut.

Albus handed the magazine back, still shaking his head.

"No no no." Tess wagged her fingers at him, "It's way to late for that. We've already started. Stop being such a baby."

Albus looked around at the three girls and then at Dylan who was still holding the buzzing razor. He sighed, "Well just get on with it then."

The feeling of the razor against his skin was terrifying. Skin that had always been protected by locks of hair was now freed, and overly sensitive to the touch.

Dylan kept shaving for what felt like hours. Albus couldn't see himself but he could see the reactions in the girl's eyes. They were oohing and aahing and getting more excited every minute.

When Dylan finally put the razor down Albus tried to spin around to get a good look at it, but Dylan held him back.

"You don't ask to see an artists work when he's halfway through!"

Albus frowned "You can't possibly take off any more!"

"Cutting is only half the job Albus, now coming the styling." Dylan grabbed a hairdryer and a comb and started to blow Albus' remaining hair in all directions. Once he was done he got a bottle from a cabinet and squirted a bunch of clear gel into his hand.

He then ran that through Albus' hair, tousling it and pushing it back. He kept staring at Albus, and then reaching forward and moving a piece of hair over and over until he finally clapped his hands. "Perfect!" He grabbed Albus' chair and spun him around.

Albus gasped.

The first thing he wondered was how a haircut could change his face. The bangs that used to hang down around his eyes had been trimmed and pushed back, make his face look much longer and causing his eyes to pop out.

The shaved sides of his head caused his jaw to stand out more and made his face look much more angular, and to be honest much more handsome.

Dylan had used Albus' messy hair to his advantage by leaving it in a tousled state atop his head that made it look wind blown and effortless.

Albus reached up and touched it. The hair was soft and silky from being blown dry. The product had made it a little crunchy in places. Albus touched the sides of his head loving the soft velvety feel from the buzzed hairs.

"Merlin's beard." He muttered.

Dylan looked confused by his statement, "Does that mean you like it? Or..."

"It looks amazing!" Albus responded. "I can't believe it."

"You look amazing Albus!" Shouted Wendy, "I knew this would work, you're gorgeous!"

The girls all looked at him with pride and smug satisfaction.

Albus stared at himself for a good few more minutes, touching his hair and inspecting it from all angles. Tess, Wendy and Stephanie seemed to find this immensely hilarious.

Dylan explained to Albus how he should take care of his new hair, how to style it and when to get it cut again.

Finally they all got up and made their way back to the front of the salon. People who had seen Albus come in oohed and aahed just like the girls had.

Stephanie paid for his haircut with her little plastic card and also bought him a bottle of the hair gel that Dylan had used in his hair.

As they were about to leave Dylan approached Albus and handed him a business card, "Next time you need a trim." Albus accepted the card. "Thanks, for everything." He said.

They all walked out and Dylan called, "And if you take a pic and put it on Instagram don't forget to tag me, it's good for business."

"Will do Dylan thanks again! See you later!" Tess called back.

They walked down the block the girls already planning their next stop.

"Wait," Albus said, "Tess, what was he talking about? What's instagram?"

Tess scoffed, "You think I understand anything these muggles are talking about? I just smile and nod."

* * *

><p>Their next stop was a tiny little boutique where Wendy said they were going to buy him shoes so that she "never has to see those god-awful filthy trainers ever again".<br>Albus had no idea that she was so opposed to his footwear. He really only wore one pair of shoes at school, and sure they were a little beat up, but they were black and simple and practical.

When he tried to explain this to Wendy she just laughed at him.

They spent what felt like an eternity in the shoe store. Albus finally gave up trying to have an opinion in the matter and just let the girls pick out shoes.

Albus figured he would just get one pair but the girls seemed determined to not let him walk out with less than 5. He finally managed to talk them down to three. He picked a pair of black leather boots. They came up over his ankle and laced up the front. The next was a pair of slip on shoes, with a navy canvas top and white rubber soles. Finally Wendy had picked him out a pair of dark maroon suede oxfords. The suede helped them not look so formal, but Albus still felt like they looked ridiculous next to his current attire.

"These wont go with anything I own." Albus complained looking at all three pairs of shoes.

"Where do you think we are going next?" Stephanie laughed.

Next turned out to be an equally as small boutique that seemed to only sell sweatshirts and graphic t-shirts. They all immediately split up with the girls dashing off to pick out their favorites. They came running back to Albus a few minutes later to show him what they had picked. Albus immediately dismissed all things pink and yellow. He actually really liked a few of them. Tess had picked out a t-shirt that had an intricate geometric pattern on it, and Stephanie had picked one with a cartoon lion wearing a crown. Wendy convinced him to get one that was a drawing of a bald guy in a hat and glasses it said "Heisenburg".

"It's a muggle thing I think." Wendy said, "Muggle things are cool, just get it."

They also grabbed him an "I heart LDN" shirt just because.

After going through all the piles Albus had 3 sweatshirts and 7 shirts.

"This is more clothing than I have in my closet right now." Albus said as they were checking out.

Stephanie groaned, "Albus this is getting sad."

They kept shopping and soon Albus was overwhelmed by all the clothes. The girls had picked him out a new coat, a vest, a blazer, belts, scarves, a beanie, patterned button ups, denim button ups, henleys, and jumpers.

Albus' arms were numb from carrying all the bags. He felt uncomfortable that Stephanie was buying him all these clothes but every time he protested she just scoffed and said, "Please, we are having much more fun than you are. We should be apologizing to you."

That wasn't necessarily true however. All three of his friends had really great style and the things that they picked out were really cool. They were normally things that Albus would never think to try on, but Steph, Tess and Wendy kept explaining to him how he should wear something and what he should pair it with to look the best.

The last store they went into sold a variety of clothes, but the girls pushed him straight to the back of the store where Albus saw shelves and shelves of trousers.

Tess and Wendy started searching through the piles and pulling out trousers at random it seemed. Meanwhile Stephanie told him that this was the only store she bought jeans from.

"The fit is just so perfect, and they are so comfortable." She explained.

Albus looked around but felt very overwhelmed. He always got his school uniform trousers from a shop near his house. They only had to be simple black ones, he never thought there could be so many options.

Wendy and Tess came back with a surprisingly small pile.

They pushed him into a dressing room and started handing him clothes to try on.

"You mostly have to wear black trousers for school, but the boys get away with dark grey so I threw in those as well." Tess said through the door.

Albus pulled them on, but they were tight on his thighs and butt.

"These are too small!" Albus called back. A moment later the door was pulled open.

"Hey!" Albus tried to complain but Tess wasn't listening.

"What are you talking about?" Wendy asked, "Those are perfect."

"No they are too tight," Albus repeated turning around so they could see how tight it was on his backside.

Stephanie whistled loudly. Albus spun back around to see them all grinning at him.

"Nice bum Al." Tess laughed, "How come you've been hiding it this whole time."

Albus blushed and glared at the girls.

"Oh come on," Wendy giggled, "I know they feel different than normal, but have you even looked in the mirror?" Albus walked out of the dressing room and looked at the large mirror on the wall. The trousers made him look very slim. They were fitted in the thighs and then tighter around the ankles as well, making his legs look long and lean.

When he turned he saw what the girls had meant about his butt. The fabric wasn't stretched tight, but it was much more fitted than he was used to, and it gave his bum a curve that Albus hadn't ever really known existed.

"Like what you see?" Stephanie said with a smile, "Because I know Scorpius will."

Albus blushed again, only harder this time and ran back into the dressing room. He took off the trousers and threw them back over the door.  
>"I'll take them." He said. He heard Stephanie cheer.<p>

Albus turned around to grab another pair to try on, when he heard Wendy's voice behind him. "Oh no…"

He hadn't even heard the door open, but there she was, standing with the door open while he was in his underwear.

"Wendy! Close the door."

She ignored him and instead called over Tess and Stephanie.

Albus didn't understand what was going on, but both girls shook their heads.

"I didn't even think of that." Stephanie muttered.

"What?" Albus said again.

"Your pants." Tess bluntly. "They are baggy and worn out and terrible."

It took a moment for Albus to register what she was saying. He looked down, sure they weren't brand new, but terrible? What made pants terrible?

He glanced back up at the girls and shook his head, "Oh no, no way, that is where I draw the line."

"Wendy smiled and began to close the door, "Keep trying on trousers, we'll be right back."

After Albus had finished trying on all the trousers and the jeans the girls had insisted on having him try on pants. They had picked out colorful ones and ones with patterns on them.

Albus tried to refuse to let them see, but Tess had just shoved the door open.

Albus thought he would die of embarrassment as they stood around agreeing that yes, boxer briefs looked best, and that darker colors were the most attractive.

"I can't let you buy me pants!" Albus had shouted as Stephanie tried to take all the clothing to the register to buy.

"Albus listen to me." Stephanie said calmly. "We're only trying to help. You can't have a gorgeous new wardrobe and then when it comes time to undress let someone see you in baggy white pants. You need sexy pants, when Scor gets you undressed you need to look hot."

Albus had absolutely nothing to say to that, so he stood aside and let her buy the trousers and the pants.

At the register the man who was working had presumably heard their conversation, because he was smirking at them as he bagged all the items. Albus tried to avoid eye contact with the guy, instead looking at what he was wearing. He had the kind of style that Tess, Steph and Wendy had been trying to create for him. Something that stood out however was his face. He had 5 or 6 piercings, one through the bottom part of his nose, one on his eyebrow and a few in each ear. He looked so cool with them all. Albus had never really thought about getting a piercing before, but suddenly he felt very courageous. After all, it had been a whole day of risks.

"Wait, " he told the girls as they left the store, "There's one more thing I want to do."

* * *

><p>A half-hour later Albus and the girls were sitting having lunch in a cute little restaurant they found down the road from where most of their shopping had taken place.<p>

Albus was tugging on his earlobe where two small studs now sat. The bottom one was just a little black circle. The top one was gold and in the shape of a tiny lightning bolt.

"Stop pulling on it." Steph told him.

When he had told the girls he wanted a piercing they had all looked rather impressed.

Steph new of a tattoo parlor only a few blocks away.

Once they got inside a very tattooed woman had helped him decide what to get. When he saw the tiny lightning bolt it was like fate.

The woman had convinced him that it would look good as an accent to a lower piercing, so he ended up getting both, one right on top of the other.

"It's so bad-ass." Tess said, "You pull it off really well, especially with the new hair."

"You should change the bottom one to an emerald when you can take them out, it would look amazing with your eyes."

When the food came they all stopped to eat. Albus smiled to himself while chewing on his sandwich, it had been a really great day. He realized that had made some amazing new friends. They took care of him the night before and today managed to keep his mind off of the New Year's Party all day. He put down his sandwich and cleared his throat.

"I just wanted to thank you all for today. It was crazy, but also really fun. You are really great friends."

Wendy immediately wrapped Albus in a huge hug. "Of course, we love you so much!" She said.

"And we know Scor can be a giant asshole. We're on your side here, so don't worry. I cant always keep him in line, but I can promise you I wont be cutting him any slack for last night." Stephanie added.

"Speaking of last night." Tess said a moment later, "We need to finish figuring out the plan for going back to school."

All three girls put their food down, Albus sensed that they were now all being very serious.

"First is clothes," Wendy said, "On the train you need to wear the black jeans with the blazer. Then underneath the blazer wear the dark green zip-up. Make sure you roll up the sleeves of the zip up around the blazer like I showed you." She lectured him.

"And wear the boots." Tess chimed in, "And the lion t shirt under the zip up."

"And do your hair, exactly like Dylan showed you." Stephanie added.

Albus almost had to laugh with how seriously these girls were talking about clothes and hair.

"The most important part is how you act though." Steph continued. "Under no circumstances can you talk to Scorpius. If you see him on the platform you have to make eye contact for no more than 3 seconds, then look away as if you couldn't care less."

"And you can't sit with us on the train." Wendy said, "Sorry, but it has to look like you have better people to hang out with than us. It'll make Scorpius really jealous."

"Once we get to Hogwarts, make sure you say hi to us all and ask us about our breaks but don't ask Scorpius. Just say hi and leave it." Tess told him. "If he asks you questions, make sure your answers and short and disinterested."

"The most important thing though Albus," Stephanie looked at him intently, "is that if he asks about New Years at all, even if he apologizes you have to act like it doesn't bother you at all. No matter what he says just pretend you don't care. If he approaches you in the hallways or during meals, keep the conversation as short as you can. Tell him you have to be somewhere and leave as quickly as possible."

Albus' head was beginning to spin.

"How long do I have to keep this up for?" he asked warily.

Steph just grinned, "Trust me, you'll know."

* * *

><p>When they got back to Tess' house after lunch Tess found a bag that was bewitched to hold much, much more than it looked like it should and gave it to Albus to put all of his purchases inside. He was going to have a hard enough time explaining the hair and earring to his parents, he didn't want them to also know how much Stephanie had spent on him in a day.<p>

Albus was the first to leave; he hugged all his friends goodbye and flooed back to his own house. Stepping out of the fireplace and into his living room Albus felt like he had been gone a month. He looked up at the clock that hung on the wall and saw that it was only 2 pm. His parents probably expected him home around now. It was a good sign that someone wasn't in room waiting for him. Albus walked up the stairs to his bedroom and put down his bag. He caught a glance of himself in the mirror and ran his hand over his hair self-consciously. What if his parents didn't like it? Worse, what if they hated it? There was only one way to find out. Albus walked back down the stairs and poked his head into the kitchen. His mother was sitting at the table reading a book.

"Hi mom." He said, walking in.

"Albus you're ho-." She cut off mid sentence and stared at him. "You're hair." Was all she said a few moments later.

"I got it cut." Albus said nervously. "What do you think?"

Ginny Potter glared at her youngest son, "I think that you told your father and I that you were spending the night at Scorpius Malfoy's house and now you show up clearly having gone somewhere else." She said in a stern voice.

"I did spend the night, and we went to London this morning. The girls wanted to go shopping and they took me to get my hair cut." Albus said hurriedly.

"Albus Severus Potter, you can not going to London for the morning without your parents' permission!" She said loudly.

Albus heard someone coming down the stairs. A moment later Lily appeared in the door way.

"HOLY SHIT!" She yelled when she saw her brother.

"Lily Luna Potter you watch your mouth!" Their mother yelled.

"Al, you look amazing!" Lily said, ignoring her mother. "Woah, are those real?" She asked pointing to his ear.

"Are what real?" Ginny yelled, "Albus if you got a piercing without telling us…!" she trailed off.

Albus heard the back door open.

"There were hardly any gnomes dear," He heard his father call, "the cold much be keeping them away."

"Harry get in here," Ginny shouted, "Look what your son did."

Albus heard James with his father, it sounded like his brother was laughing excitedly.

"Wow." Was all Harry had to say when he entered the room.

"HOLY SHIT!" James yelled. Ginny glared at her oldest son but seemed to have given up.

"And a pierced ear!" Ginny told Harry, pointing to Albus.

"What happened Al?" His dad asked him. Albus repeated the story he had told his mother. At the end of it Harry just looked confused.

"I didn't know that you were tired of your hair." He said sounding concerned.

"I just wanted a change dad." Albus said quietly.

Harry nodded, "Well let's see this earring then." He walked over to look at it and a moment later smiled. "I love it." He said ruffling his son's hair.

Albus sighed, relieved that he father had been so calm. He glanced over at his mom and noticed that her attitude had also shifted.

She sighed heavily and walked over to her son as well. "It's very handsome." She said finally. "The hair I mean. I still don't like the earring." She frowned. "You look grown up." She said finally, "How dare those Slytherins take my baby for one night and hand me back some sort of adult with fancy hair and earrings." Albus chuckled as his mom smiled at him and kissed him on the forehead. Albus saw James roll his eyes.

"No more London without a heads up, eh?" Harry said waking out of the room.

"Sure thing dad." Albus smiled.

Ginny followed her husband and Albus could hear her whispering. They were probably discussing him still. He didn't mind too much, he couldn't have a transformation like this without some sort of repercussions. Albus just hoped that they thought it was some sort of teenage angst, or rebellion, instead of an attempt to attract a boy.

James approached his brother after their parents were out of the room. "Gay much?" he asked.

"Don't tell me, you got dumped last night and this is your sad attempt to win him back." James said quietly. Albus internally shivered at how close to the truth his brother actually was.

"We aren't dating." Albus responded quietly, "You have to be dating to be dumped. I did this for me. I wanted a change, I wanted to look more confident so I can feel more confident."

James stared at Albus, his eyes showing that he wasn't fooled. Finally he sighed angrily. "Just give up on him Al. He doesn't deserve you." Then he walked out of the room.

Albus stood there confused for a moment before turning to his sister. "That was…weird." He said.

"When is James not weird." Lily responded quickly. Albus couldn't argue with that. He was about to say something else when he noticed his sister was staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You're holding out on me." Lily whispered, eyeing him closely.

Albus smiled, "Oh yeah I am. There's like 10 bags of clothes upstairs that Stephanie's dad paid for." Albus whispered back with a grin.

Lily shrieked and then two of them went running up to Albus' room.

* * *

><p>A few notes:<p>

I tried to stay true to English meanings of words since my characters are in Britain after all. I don't know how well I did but in case you were confused pants=underwear.

Also, one thing I didn't consider is the fact that most stores would be closed on New Year's Day… oops, lets just all suspend reality for that one.


	22. Chapter 22

Hooray for lots of snow days, which means staying cozy in bed and writing! I apologize for the false alarm update, here's a real one to make up for it.

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><p>Scorpius was not happy to be back at King's Cross for the beginning of the new term. He found himself becoming nauseated when he passed into Platform 9 ¾ and was immediately bombarded with the sounds of hundreds of happy students saying goodbye to their parents and reuniting with friends. Scorpius just sneered in their direction.<p>

The last time his parents had come to see him off was in his second year. After that he had refused to let them come, because what kind of idiot couldn't get on a train by themselves by the age of 13?

After a few moments of tactfully avoiding get bumped and pushed by the large crowds around him Scorpius saw a familiar face from across the station.

"Andrew." He called, walking over. As he got closer he realized it wasn't just Andrew, but all of his friends. They had arrived earlier than him, which wasn't very surprising. What was surprising is that none of them looked very excited to see him, albeit Andrew.

"Hey!" Andrew called out waving a hand, but a quick stern look from Tess and he dropped the hand back down.

"Morning." Scorpius said suspiciously, as he neared the group. He slung one of his arms around Jaysen, but the boy didn't respond, ignoring Scorpius completely. When he looked to Steph to see what was going on, she just stared back at him indifferently.

Scorpius had to admit he was rather confused. He knew his friends had been ignoring him since New Year's. Stephanie who normally popped in and out of his house without warning had been absent all week. He hadn't seen any of his friends in the New Year, and hadn't gotten any replies to his owls. Scorpius had just figured that this was passive anger that would blow over once they all got back together. But the silent treatment? Really? It was so juvenile.

His arm was still on Jaysen's shoulder, so Scorpius shook his friend a bit, trying to make him snap out of it.

"This can't be about Beatrix can it?" Scorpius asked incredulously, "Seriously, I thought you were over her ages ago." Jaysen didn't respond so Scorpius leaned over and said, "You're not missing out on anything. She wasn't even that good."

Wendy gasped.

"You are such an asshole!" Tess yelled at him, "you knew how awful she was to Jayse! How could you sleep with her?"

Jaysen shook off Scorpius' arm and Scorpius began to feel a little angry.

"Well you never know." He replied, "Maybe I wouldn't have slept with her if you guys hadn't disappeared with my other prospect for the night."

"He's not a prospect, he's a person you slimy git." Stephanie responded. "And as if we would let you get anywhere near him after the shit you pulled."

Scorpius rolled his eyes flippantly, but felt uneasy inside. He had expected this from the others, but Steph was his best friend, his other half. Why was she so angry? She knew what he was like. He did terrible things to people all the time. Why did everyone suddenly care now?

"That's what this is all really about. It's him." Scorpius spat out, "You are choosing him over me. Well that's a laugh." Scorpius chuckled for added effect.

"We're not choosing sides." Sullivan said calmly.

"Yeah, we're friends with both of you." Andrew added earnestly.

"But we sure as hell aren't helping you screw him over anymore either!" Tess said, pointing at Scorpius accusingly. "We want out of whatever stupid game you think you are playing."

Scorpius looked around in disbelief. Had all his friends come to this same conclusion? He realized, seeing only stern faces staring back at him, that yes, they had. They must have gotten together without him and planned to... planned to _protect _Albus Potter.

"We care about him Scor." Steph said finally. "And we aren't going to allow you to treat him this way anymore."

Scorpius fell quiet.

He might always try to act intimidating and tough, but without his friends what did he have? A reputation? A rich family? He tried to imagine his days around Hogwarts without the 6 people in front of him. It seemed miserable and lonely, he didn't want that.

Somewhere in the back of his mind a voice was also telling him that they were right. He had been an ass to Albus. He shouldn't treat him like that and he shouldn't try to hurt him like it was some sort of game.

Scorpius angrily squashed those thoughts. Convincing himself for what felt like the 100th time, that no, he didn't care about Albus. He was only doing this for his friends.

"Alright." He said finally, a resigned look on his face. He looked up to see all his friends smiling at him, and while he couldn't help feeling furious that they had won, he also felt immensely relieved.

A few more moment passed in silence. Finally Jaysen spoke up.

"So how bad was she exactly?" He asked with a grin.

* * *

><p>Albus' legs bounced nervously for the entire car ride to the station.<p>

The last week of his vacation had flown by. When Rosie had come over and seen his haircut for the first time, she had been shocked. But, same as Lily, had agreed that it looked very good on him. Unlike Lily, Rosie was not as impressed with his new wardrobe.

"It just isn't very you." She told him.

After she had left their house Lily had scoffed. "What she means is it isn't boring. Don't let her box you into being the same as you have always been. Everyone is allowed to reinvent themselves."

While packing up his trunk his mom had been very curious as to why all of his clothes were still in his closet. Albus had been reduced to snatching his father's wand when he was in the shower and performing a shrinking charm so that his old clothes could be packed in with his new clothes. Of course he couldn't hide the clothes that he was supposed to be wearing on the train, so Albus and Lily had gone shopping one day to explain the presence of the new jeans and shirts and shoes to his parents.

He had woken up much earlier than normal the morning of the train and spent a long while in the bathroom until he was satisfied with his hair.

He had then dressed himself carefully per Stephanie, Tess and Wendy's instruction. He was the last one down to breakfast and his entrance caused quite a stir.

Lily smiled and nodded approvingly.

"Are those your new trousers for school Albus?" His mother asked nervously. "They look small. You know you should always shop for a size larger, you're still a growing boy."

The rest of the morning had been uneventful. They all finished breakfast, packed up the car and went on their way to London, with their father driving, and their mother doing her best to navigate, although Harry usually ignored her directions.

With every passing mile Albus was more and more convinced that he was going to be sick. When they reached the station, his father immediately found a place to park. It looked like a space for handicapped cars, but miraculously the moment they pulled up to it the painted symbol on the concrete disappeared.

"Lucky find." Harry said with a grin, turning off the car and getting out to grab a cart for transporting all his childrens' trunks.

Albus got out of the car and stood by as his dad loaded their trunks. He nervously adjusted his earring and his sleeves and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Albus, dear, are you coming?" His mother called. His family stood about 10 paces away while Albus hadn't taken a step away from the car.

"Yeah mum!" He said hurrying over to them.

They walked around pointing at crazy muggle contraptions being sold in the stores and laughing at all the crazy muggles who were buying them. Lily convinced her mother to by her a muggle teen magazine. James wanted a muggle candy bar that he fancied for the train ride.

"Anything for you Al?" His father asked before he paid at the small little newspaper stand.

"Nothing." Albus managed.

"Everything alright son?" His father questioned him as they approached the platform a few minutes later. "You seem more nervous than your first year."

"I'm fine." Albus tried to convince his father with a winning smile. Harry looked at him skeptically, clearly not fooled.

"If it's about the new hair and clothes…" Harry began. He looked around and then leaned down to whisper in his son's ear," I do think they look very nice. I'm sure whomever you are trying to impress will think you are very handsome."

"What?" Albus almost yelped.

Harry just chuckled. "I may be old, but I'm not that old." He smiled down at his son. "You don't have to tell us about her if you don't want to, but I hope everything works out like you want."

Harry gave his son a reassuring pat on the back, but Albus' heart just sunk. One thing he had not gotten around to in his last week of break was discussing his sexuality with his parents. Despite Dylan's encouragement, Albus was still scared of the idea and with school looming so closely, he had been able to put it off quite easily. If he didn't feel so guilty about the whole thing he might have even been able to find it funny how close his father was to the truth, while at the same time being so, so very far off.

James ran through the platform wall first, followed by Lily, then their mother, then Albus and finally their father.

The Potter family emerged on the other side and were quickly swamped by family and friends. Rosie appeared at Albus' side almost instantly.

"Looking good cous." She said glancing at his clothes. "Did Lily dress you?"

"Ha ha, very funny." Albus retorted, "I dressed myself. Perhaps there was a little influence from interested parties, but the physical dressing part was all me."

She laughed lightly, "I'm so proud."

Albus sighed. He was glad Rosie was here with him. The nerves he was feeling began to relax; although he knew the worst was still to come at least Rosie would be there with him.

Not too long after a loud horn announced that the train would be leaving soon and that all students needed to board. Albus gave both of his parents a hug and a kiss and waving goodbye began to walk towards the train.

The stares were piercing. The whispers didn't even deserve the name 'whisper' because of how audible they were. Students from all sides were spreading the word that Albus Potter was here, and completely unrecognizable.

"Look at that hair!"

"Is that an earring?"

"Who does he think he is?"

"He looks hot."

Albus wanted to find a nice rock to climb under but he was only a few feet away from the train.

"They're like vultures." Lily groaned, standing on his right, glaring at the girls who were whispering and pointing at Albus.

"Don't look now." Rosie said on his left, "but I see a certain vulture who seems particularly surprised."

Albus turned to his left to see what she was talking about. About twenty feet away Albus made eye contact with Scorpius. At first Albus froze. He hadn't seen Scorpius since New Year's. He didn't know what to do. A moment later his fear disappeared when he saw Scorpius' face. The blonde's eyes were open wide and his mouth had literally dropped open. Albus was sure that the rest of the Slytherins must have been very close by. Remembering what they girls had told him Albus made no motion to Scorpius, not a wave or even a nod. He simply cocked an eyebrow, smirked, turned around and kept walking.

"Alright big bro." Lily said after they had boarded the train, "That was super cool."

"What was that?" Rose asked, "Did something happen between you and Malfoy."

Albus had never told Rosie what had happened on New Year's.

He sighed, "It's a long story." He said, "Let's get a compartment and I will tell you about it."

* * *

><p>"STEPHANIE!" Scorpius roared the moment they closed the door to the compartment behind them.<p>

"Yes?" She responded innocently, inspecting her nails very thoroughly. Everyone else in the compartment seemed to be avoiding eye contact with Scorpius as well.

"WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT?" He was hoping that if he kept up the volume they wouldn't be able to ignore him forever.

"Scorpius dear, please sit down." Steph responded calmly, patting the seat next to her.

"NOT UNTIL YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU DID."

"I honestly have no idea what you are talking about." She said smiling up at him. Scorpius felt his temper rising. These sneaky little bitches! They had only minutes before convinced him there would be no sides involved when it came to him and Potter and yet here they were working behind his back the whole time.

"I'M TALKING ABOUT ALBUS!" He spat out, waiting for a reaction of some kind, but none came.

"Oh, that. Yes, he did look rather dashing today didn't he." She said with a surprisingly straight face, given how delighted she sounded.

Scorpius wanted to scream and yell and maybe throw something at her head, but realizing none of those would be practical inside of the small compartment, or helpful given his current predicament, he settled for pouting instead.

He plopped down in the seat next to Steph and sighed loudly.

"So much for not choosing sides." He muttered crossing his arms and glaring around at all of his so-called friends.

Andrew threw his hands up immediately, "Hey, I had nothing to do with this."

Sullivan had his nose in a book and Jaysen seemed to be taking a nap, but they girls all had secret smiles on their lips and kept glancing at each other.

"I want to know when this happened." Scorpius demanded, "I want to know when Albus Potter suddenly became more important to you all then me."

Stephanie finally budged.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes and her childhood friend. "Honestly stop being such a baby." She said pinching his arm, hard.

"I thought we didn't keep secrets from one another." Scorpius muttered angrily, rubbing his arm.

"This isn't a secret." She pointed out, "You never asked me if I took Albus out for a day of shopping with Wendy and Tess."

"Well it sure feels like a secret." Scorpius said, crossing his arms again.

Stephanie sighed again, amazed at how childish Scorpius could become. "All I'm saying is that you messed everything up when you ran off with Ms. Veela-bimbo-queen. We were just settling the score."

"The haircut was my idea." Tess said proudly, clearly glad that they had decided to start talking about Albus' new look. In fact, everyone seemed more interested. Sullivan put his book away and Jaysen sat up, proving that he hadn't really even been napping in the first place.

"Did you see his earring yet?" Wendy asked excitedly. "Its so hot."

"Earring?!" Scorpius couldn't believe his ears, "Albus Potter has an earring."

"Two." Wendy grinned.

"Where did you guys take him?" Jaysen asked.

Tess listed off the majority of the stores, while Steph and Wendy threw in the ones she had forgot to mention.

Jaysen nodded approvingly, but when they had finished sighed, "You really should have taken him to Paris."

The group continued to talk about Albus and his new wardrobe, but Scorpius had a feeling the girls weren't telling him everything. Sure, Albus had looked different, but he had also acted different. When they had seen each other on the platform Albus had looked indifferent to Scorpius' presence. Was the boy really that angry with Scorpius for New Year's? It was possible, but it was more likely that the girls had something to do with it.

A moment later a soft rapping could be heard on the door of the compartment.

"Come in." Wendy sang.

The compartment door opened and Albus Potter stepped in and shut it carefully behind him.

Scorpius noticed that the girls seemed rather surprised.  
>"What are you doing here Albus." Steph asked him quickly. Scorpius couldn't help but smile. So they had told Albus to stay away from him then. Looks like the little Gryffindor couldn't follow those particular directions, Scorpius thought gleefully. He was about to say something to Albus, but Albus spoke up first, only he wasn't talking to Scorpius.<p>

"Sully, I was wondering if I could take a look at your homework for Ancient Runes." Albus asked sweetly.

Sullivan looked surprised, "You haven't done it?" He asked. Sullivan reached down into his bookbag and began searching for it.

"All but the twelfth problem." Albus complained, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe. "I tried to use the method that Langing-Tair showed us in class, but it came out looking really ugly. I don't think I did it right."

Sullivan found the right scroll and passed it to Albus. Albus unrolled it and skimmed the page for a while until he gasped.

"That's genius." He said. "I didn't even think of using the Furthark code because of the context, but that actually makes much more sense."

Albus handed the scroll back and Sully glanced at it. "Yeah it made more sense than the Phoenician method because of the density and placement of the symbols." Sullivan said, "But Langing-Tair didn't really go over that in class."

"Geez Albus," Tess teased, "Aren't you going to be doing this over the summer? You better brush up."

Albus laughed as well, "Lucky for curse breakers, ancient wizards didn't usually start writing runes from different time centuries and different cultures down on the same wall, unlike Professor Langing-Tair feels the need to do."

Sullivan laughed, but seemed to be the only one to appreciate the joke.

Jaysen sighed loudly, "And this is why you will never get laid Sullivan. You are such a dork. That goes for you too Albus."

Scorpius thought this was a perfect time for him to but in. After all Jayse had just mentioned Albus getting laid… But Albus beat him to it again.

This time the Gryffindor turned to Wendy. "I found something to show you." He said. Reaching into his back pocket Albus pulled out a rolled up magazine, he unrolled it, flipped to a certain page and handed it to Wendy.

Wendy laughed out loud when she saw it and handed it to Tess, who laughed and shared it with Stephanie.

"It's the same guy!" Wendy said still laughing.

When Stephanie got the magazine Scorpius glanced at it over her shoulder. There was a muggle man, without a shirt on the page. He was modeling some sort of watch on this wrist. He was very handsome and had long shaggy hair going out in every which direction. It reminded Scorpius of Albus' hair before, well, today.

"He was my inspiration wasn't he?" Albus asked playfully. "Maybe he's trying to tell me something."

Tess mocked horror, "Don't you dare! That haircut cost a fortune."

"The shorter looks better on you." Wendy announced.

"But you have to admit I was right," Albus said pointing, "It wasn't the hair, it was the model. We got lucky. This," He pointed up to his head, "Was a fluke."

"That model would look good in a clown costume." Stephanie said, passing the magazine back to Albus, "And it wasn't a fluke, more of an educated guess. Dylan knew what he was doing. I wasn't worried."

Scorpius was utterly confused by the entire conversation that was happening around him.

Albus took the magazine back and shoved it in his back pocket, while continuing his banter with the girls.

Scorpius couldn't help but wonder how the magazine fit in the pocket of Albus' jeans. They were extremely tight and Scorpius was immensely enjoying the view. He had seen Albus without clothes on before, but the boy's new wardrobe showed off his slim figure even while his clothes were still on. It left less to the imagination, but more to be desired. Scorpius was getting excited at the very thought. He wanted to get Albus alone and under him as soon as possible. There was only one problem; Albus was talking to everyone but him. The Gryffindor had barged into their compartment and since had refused to even make eye contact with Scorpius.

"Well I better go." Scorpius heard Albus say. Scorpius silently cursed. This was his last shot.

"Why don't you stay Albus." Scorpius said, "We'll make room." He patted the small bit of cushion next to him, ensuring that Albus would be squeezed in between him and the wood paneled wall of the compartment.

To his utter astonishment Albus just smirked at him again.

"I'm actually sitting with some other people." He said vaguely. He opened the door and stepped out.

"See you later." He said, directing the comment at everyone in the compartment. Then he closed the door and was gone.

"Huh." Scorpius grumbled, "Well that was rude."

There was a moment of silence in the compartment before everyone around him burst into laughter. Andrew joined in, and didn't even try to hide it.

"What?" Scorpius asked angrily.

"I believe this is a perfect example of what most would call irony." Sullivan said, still chuckling.

"Or poetic justice." Tess added in happily.

Scorpius regarded all his friends in horror and disgust. So this is what it was going to be like from now on? Albus Potter was going to snub him and his friends were all going to laugh about it. No way, Scorpius decided. He already knew Albus liked him, he could win the Gryffindor back.

"This should be fun." Stephanie said, still teasing Scorpius.

Scorpius smiled to himself, yes, it really should be.

* * *

><p>Thanks to all my followers and all my reviewers. I hope you guys like the new Albus ;)<p> 


	23. Chapter 23

Hooray for Spring Break! Laying in the sun, getting a tan and writing a little Al/Scor drama ;) sounds like a perfect vacay.

Thanks for all the reviews and follows! You guys rock!

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><p>Albus woke up on Monday morning, feeling very refreshed. He showered, brushed his teeth, and fixed his hair, which thankfully now that he was back at Hogwarts he could do with magic. Coming out of the bathroom Albus noticed that none of his other roommates were awake yet.<p>

That didn't bother Albus one bit, he continued getting ready, dressing himself for the day and collecting all the books and notes he would need for his classes.

"Al?" He heard a voice ask from across the room as he had just finished packing up his things.

Albus turned and saw Drew, just now rising from out of his bed, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"You're up early." Drew noted, glancing at the clock on the wall.

"I've been feeling very awake lately." Albus smiled. "I'm headed down to breakfast now. Want me to wait?"

Drew shook his head and yawned again, "I gotta shower, you go ahead, but save me a seat."

"Alright." Albus replied. He walked out of the dormitory and down the stairs into the common room.

There were a few students sitting around on the couches and chairs. When Albus walked through the room almost every one of them turned and said good morning to him.

"Morning." Albus replied happily back at every one of them in turn. He walked out of the common room and into the hallway, even wishing the Fat Lady good morning as he went.

Last week had been the most amazing week of Albus' life. Somehow his change in appearance had made the entire school decide that he was finally worthy of the fame that his surname gave. Of course this was tremendously shallow, but Albus decided to not complain. He felt sort of like James, walking around the halls having people come up and talk to him, other Gryffindors sat with him at meals, even his roommates had backed off. They stopped being hostile, and if Albus didn't know any better he would say that Jeremy was even being _friendly_ to him now.

Albus made his way down to the Great Hall and when he arrived was delighted to see that pancakes were for breakfast. He walked down the aisle between the house tables waving and greeting people along the way until he spotted Rosie.

He walked up and when she noticed him she quickly moved her bag off of the bench next to her.

"I'm glad you made it." She said eagerly. "We are having a crisis."

Albus sat down and his attention was directed to Amy and Grace who seemed just as eager for his arrival as his cousin.

Amy and Grace were included in the students who suddenly thought Albus was worthy of their time after a haircut and a new sweater or two. Albus had wanted to snub them, act as cruel to them as they had to him, to teach them a lesson. However, it was much easier for everyone if he just played along. When they weren't mocking him Amy and Grace could be rather fun, and Albus was beginning to understand why Rosie was friends with them.

The 'crisis' ended up being the fact that Michael Cunningham had asked Grace to go with him to Hogsmeade the following weekend and Grace couldn't decide what she thought of him.

"What do you think Al?" Grace asked. She had begun to call him Al lately. It was weird.

"Yeah, do you think he's hot?" Amy glanced behind her quickly to the Hufflepuff table where Michael sat, completely oblivious to their conversation.

"Uh… yeah?" Albus answered uncertainly. The fact that Albus was gay had now become a favorite topic of Rosie's friends. They seemed to always be asking him what he thought of their hair, or their clothes, or every boy in the castle.

His answer seemed to placate Amy for the moment, because she turned back to Grace and the two girls kept whispering everything they knew about Michael Cunningham. Albus was always amazed by how much the two girls could gossip, and always a little disgusted when Rosie joined in.

Fortunately, their shift in attention gave Albus a perfect opportunity to load up his plate with a large stack of pancakes. He covered them in berries and butter and syrup. He took a deliciously large bite just as someone sat down next to him.

"Hello again." Drew said. He had gotten ready much quicker then Albus had expected. The boy's hair was still dripping wet from his shower.

"At uz ast." Albus managed, trying to speak around the pancake.

"Ugh, swallow first please." Drew said making a face, "You're disgusting."

Albus finished eating, "I said, that was fast." He repeated.

"Ah well, Ian got up a moment after you left and beat me to the good shower. Slimy git. Anyways the other shower was ice cold. Hence my hasty arrival."

Drew also began to load his plate up with pancakes.

Albus received a sharp jab in the side from Rosie's elbow. This had become her sort of code since arriving back at Hogwarts. Albus wished she would pick a more subtle or less painful code. The first few times she did it, it had surprised him, but now he knew what it meant: Scorpius was looking at him.

Albus felt himself grin. One of the best parts of his recent increase in popularity was how much it annoyed Scorpius. Before arriving at school Albus had been nervous about avoiding Scorpius, but it had turned out to be simple, and entertaining.

* * *

><p>Tess, Steph and Wendy had secretly met up with him last week in between classes so Scorpius wouldn't know. They had informed Albus that the plan was working perfectly and that Scorpius was losing it.<p>

"You should see him when Sully gets back from ancient runes." Wendy giggled, then started doing an impression of Scorpius, "Was Albus there? What did he say? Who was he with?"

"I was worried on the train," Steph had admitted, "But you were a pro. I've never seen Scor so shaken up."

Albus thanked the girls over and over again for all they had done.

"I knew I looked different, but I could have never imagined that people would react like this." He told them.

"You know Albus, its not just how you look." Steph reminded him.

"Yeah, your attitude has been completely different since coming back I think it is making you more approachable." Tess added

"But I was only acting this way to make Scorpius jealous." Albus had told the girls.

Tess had laughed, "Yeah well, confidence looks good on you, maybe you should stick with it."

Well, the girls had definitely been right about Scorpius. The blonde had been after him all week, trying to find a moment to get Albus alone. Thanks to Albus' new popularity that wasn't as easy as it had once been.

Finally on Friday the Slytherin had managed to follow him out of the Great Hall after breakfast.

"Hey Potter." Scorpius had run to catch up with Albus.

"I can't talk I'm on my way to class Malfoy." Albus had replied sternly.

"I'll walk you there." Scorpius had offered, sidling up close to Albus.

"I'm perfectly capable of walking by myself." Albus had said as harshly as he could manage, "Besides don't you have class to be getting to?"

Scorpius had waved the idea off, and instead continued to follow Albus out to the greenhouses.

"Hey, what are you up to this weekend, because I thought maybe we could-"

"Busy." Albus had interrupted him.

"When?" Scorpius had asked, surprised at the response.

"All weekend actually." Albus had given a small smile as they reached the doors to the greenhouse. "Nice talking to you though. Bye." And then he had walked off, not turning back, but he could only imagine the look on Scorpius' face.

Due to his conversation with Scorpius Albus was forced to stay out of sight most of the weekend. Of course hadn't really had plans, and Scorpius would definitely search the library in the hopes of catching Albus in a lie.

So Saturday Albus spent the whole day in the common room. He got loads of homework done and also got challenged to quite a few games of chess.

Sunday morning Lily had convinced him to go the Gryffindor quidditch practice. Albus had been extremely disinclined until Lily promised that they would spend the whole time embarrassing James. The two and sat up in the bleachers cheering and encouraging their brother, which seemed to anger him more than anything. Multiple times he flew over to where they were sitting and told them to shut up or to go home.

"How rude!" Albus had gasped in feign devastation.

"We're just here because we love you oh so much James." Lily yelled loud enough for all the players to hear. "And we think you're the greatest quidditch player in the whole wide world and we want to support you however we can!"

After that James had ignored them.

At the end of practice all the players had started to leave and James called Albus down to the field.

"I want to practice a little more." He told Albus tossing him a broom. "Play keeper, will you?"

This was something Albus did all the time at home, and seeing as the quidditch pitch was the absolute last place Scorpius would go looking for him Albus didn't mind hanging around.

As the two brothers started practicing Albus realized that everyone else had hung around as well, curious to see whether Albus Potter could actually fly. When they finally landed there was a small crowd waiting for them.

A fifth year named Daniel who was the keeper for the Gryffindor team approached him, "Albus, that was incredible. How did you get so good at keeping?"

Albus had pointed to his brother, "Try living with this one." He said unenthusiastically, "He never gets off a broom."

James had ruffled his brother's hair, which he knew made Albus angry now that he actually spent time styling it.

"Come on," James said to his team, "Let's get lunch." Albus had started to walk off when James grabbed him, "You too bro."

Albus couldn't really believe it; in 6 years at Hogwarts he had never had a meal with his brother.

Once they all had entered the Great Hall Albus became even more delighted. All the Slytherins had been eating as well and they all saw when Albus walked in, in a large raucous crowd of quidditch players.

Stephanie had winked at him. But Scorpius had just glared.

* * *

><p>Albus was smiling at the happy memory when Drew called his name, pulling him out of his daydream.<br>"What did you say?" Albus asked.

"Are you serious?" Drew asked, eyes wide, "Dude, I've been talking to you for like five minutes, did you even hear a word I said?"

Albus frowned, "Sorry I was thinking about something." He said apologetically to his friend, "I didn't mean to ignore you."

Drew scoffed, "Yeah more like you were thinking about some_one_."

Albus wrinkled his nose at the Gryffindor. "Shove off." Albus stuffed a few more bits of pancakes in his mouth, halting all further conversation on the topic. Unfortunately Drew's mouth was still empty and he clearly had more to say.

"When are you going to forgive him?" Drew asked quietly, but even so Rosie, Amy and Grace had their ears perked.

"Dunno." Albus said between bites.

"You're one seriously cold guy Al." Drew nodded his head as if he was impressed. Albus didn't have the energy to explain to Drew how it was really Scorpius who was incredibly cold and if there was anything the Slytherin deserved more it was a strong dose of his own medicine.

Gryffindors, Albus thought, shaking his head. Always doing the noble thing. If Drew had it his way Albus would either go confess his love for Scorpius, or challenge the boy to a duel, or perhaps both. So straightforward, Gryffindors had no finesse, no style. This matter required a Slytherin's sense of patience and grace. Moments later Albus shuddered. He really had been spending was too much time with the Slytherins, they were beginning to influence him.

"So, really then?" Grace pressed as Albus took another large bite of his breakfast, "No idea when?"

"Ow no wen ow no." Albus said. Noticing the extremely confused looks of his friends Albus swallowed before trying again.

"I'll know when I know." Albus shrugged. He would sense when the Slytherin had had enough, but he hadn't, not yet, not by a long shot.

* * *

><p>After his classes that day Albus headed down the school grounds towards Hagrid's hut. He hadn't gone to visit the man since the beginning of the term. He had a few things to say to the family friend.<p>

"Hagrid?" He called, pounding loudly on the front door. It was almost immediately opened by the enormous man.

"Albus." Hagrid grinned. "I saw yer coming from the window. Come on in. I made tea."

Albus walked into the hut and plopped himself down onto a large worn armchair. He smiled to himself. The smell, the warmth of the room, he had missed Hagrid's.

Hagrid walked back over and handed a chipped mug to Albus before settling himself in an equally as worn armchair next to the boy.

"Listen, I'm glad yer came. I've been meaning to talk to yer. I wanted to apologize about yelling at yer before."

Albus was relieved. " You don't need to apologize." Albus smiled, I'm just glad you aren't angry with me anymore."

"Angry? I was never angry." Hagrid insisted. "I was just worried about yer."

Albus couldn't help but admit to himself that Hagrid's concerns had been well founded, but Hagrid didn't need to know that.

"You could have told my parents." Albus said instead. It had been bothering him, why hadn't told his father what he had seen?

Hagrid shook his head quickly, "No, I wouldn'ta done that." Hagrid sighed. "You know, I grew up tryna hide who I was. Didn't want anyone to know that I was part giant. It wasn't exactly accepted back then. Half-breeds were hated by a lot of people. O'course it wasn't fair, but I hid it all the same. It was the best way to get by. The first person I told was Dumbledore, yer namesake. I'll bet my boots that he already knew, but he listened to me all the same. I couldn't help the way I was born. I just needed time to accept it."

Albus listened in astonishment. He had never heard of Hagrid talk about his giant blood. Albus payid enough attention in Histoy of Magic to know that about 50 years ago half breeds had been treated very differently than today, but he had never thought aobut ow Hagrid's lif might have been affectee by it. Albus realized that Hagrid probably received a lot more hate and descriminatino growing up thatn Albus could even imagine.

"Thank you." Albus replied finally, not sure what else to say.

Hagrid gave a warm smile and poured himself some tea. Then the two began talking just like old times. Hagrid asked about Al's new hair and how his holidays had been.

Hagrid also told Albus about the baby centaurs that had been born during the holidays.

"Twins, can you believe it? I helped deliver 'em and the mother was so happy that she let me name 'em. Wayne and Gibbs is what I chose, cuz of the moon they were born under. Centaurs like that kind of stuff."

Albus couldn't picture a centaur named Wayne or Gibbs, but Hagrid was too excited for him to say anything.

"I go and visit them every week. They grow up so fast, already up to my waist."

Hagrid had been recalling the trip he had taken into the forest to see them just a few days before when something out of the window caught his eye and he stopped.

"What?" Albus asked when Hagrid didn't pick his story back up again. Albus couldn't see out of the window from where he was sitting, but after Hagrid didn't answer Albus stood up, and out the window he stopped a familiar blonde sprawled on the grass.

"How long has he been sitting there?" Albus asked,

"Dunno, I just noticed him." Hagrid replied gruffly.

"What is he, following me or something?" Albus grumbled.

"If ye want I could go give him detention. Call it trespassing or summat." Hagrid's smile showed just how willing he was to give the Slytherin detention.

"No, that's alright Hagrid." Albus sighed, shouldering his bag. "I better go talk to him."

Giving the giant a hug goodbye Albus left the hut. As soon as he stepped off the porch Scorpius was on his feet. He didn't approach Albus and instead waited for the Gryffindor to come to him.

"So you've resorted to stalking have you?" Albus asked, walking past Scorpius without even a glance.

Scorpius followed a few paces behind for a moment or two before falling in line with Albus.

"I wasn't stalking. I just needed to speak with you and someone told me you were here." Scorpius said, stretching his arms out in front of him. Albus wondered how long the blond had been waiting before Hagrid's had noticed him.

"Well then, talk." Albus said, still deliberately avoiding eye contact.

"It's about Hogsmeade this weekend..." Scorpius began.

"No." Albus responded immediately.

"Oh come on Al!" Scorpius moaned. Albus shot him a glare, reminding him that he was not on good enough terms to use that nickname.

"You know Potter, I thought maybe you could take a lesson from your cousin. I didn't do half as bad as that idiot boyfriend of hers." Scorpius complained.

"He's not her boyfriend anymore." Albus said sharply. "And what do you mean take a lesson from her? She dumped him!"

"Right, but they're going to Hogsmeade together this weekend." Scorpius continued.

Albus stopped abruptly, which caught Scorpius off guard.

Albus' face must have been horrified because when Scorpius looked back at him the Slytherin's eyes went wide.

"Oh shit Al, I mean Potter. I thought you knew. It was all anyone was talking about at lunch. Your cousin was crying in the Great Hall."

"I was in the library during lunch." Albus said after a few moments.

"I didn't mean to make you angry!" Scorpius insisted, visibly upset, "I honestly thought you knew! That's why I thought you might want to spend the day with me, because she would be spending it with the git."

"I have to go." Albus couldn't imagine what Rosie must be feeling. He had to find her! He had to find out what had happened!

Scorpius grabbed the sleeve of Albus' robe before he could leave, "Wait, but what about-"

"I have to go!" Albus repeated angrily. He pulled away from Scorpius and ran back towards the castle leaving the Slytherin behind.

* * *

><p>Albus made it to the entrance of the Gryffindor common room in record time. The moment he entered he saw Lily sitting by the fireplace with one of her friends. He raced towards her and when she saw him she quickly stood.<p>

"Where have you been?" She demanded, "I've been looking for you all afternoon."

"Library, then Hagrid's." Albus replied, still out of breath from running up all the stairs. "Where is she? I heard what happened from Scorpius."

Lily's eyes went wide at the mention of Scorpius, but she didn't say anything and instead just pointed in the direction of the girl's dormitory.

Albus walked over to the stairs and carefully began trying to climb them. After a few steps when he hadn't been sent crashing down them as a part of the protective charm on them he continued running up.

Albus wasn't particularly surprised. The stairs meant well, and if a boy tried to go up them with good intentions they usually didn't interfere.

"Rosie!" Albus called when he reached to the 6th year room. He heard sobbing from within and he opened the door. Rose was sitting on her bed, arms wrapped around her legs, chin resting on her knees. Grace and Amy were sitting around her, from the exhausted looks on their faces they must have all been sitting there for quite awhile.

"Albus." Rosie said miserably looking up at him. "I'm so sorry." She began crying again, her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were stained with tears.

Albus looked at Amy and Grace, "Can you give us a minute?" He asked them. They eagerly nodded. Clearly they hadn't had the best of luck consoling Rose and were happy to hand her off to someone else.  
>Once the girls were out of the room with the door shut behind them. Albus walked over and pulled his cousin into his arms. He shushed her over and over as she told him again and again how sorry she was.<p>

"You have nothing to be sorry for." He said finally.

"But, what he did to you." Rose managed. "He was so terrible. I want to hate him." She sniffed and her eyes filled with tears again, "Why can't I hate him for what he did to you?"

"Because you love him." Albus responded simply. This caused Rosie to break down once again, burying her head to Albus' chest.

"It's alright." Albus said softly, smoothing her hair with his hand. "You didn't do anything."

Rosie shot up and blinked the tears out of her eyes. "I did." She said quietly. "Over the holidays he sent me letters, telling me that he missed me and that he was sorry and wanted a second chance. I should have ignored them, but I didn't. I wrote him back and led him on. And now that we are back at school I see him everywhere, in classes and at meals and in the common room and its so tiring trying to avoid him all the time. I don't even want to avoid him anymore. I miss him so much and I get so angry at myself for being so selfish." Albus felt his heart sink with every word. He couldn't stand to see Rosie in so much pain.

"And so today when he asked me to Hogsmeade I couldn't say no. Of course I couldn't say yes either, so I just broke down and ran away." She wiped more tears from her eyes, "I'm such a coward."

"No you're not." Albus said firmly, holding her hands in his own. "You can't help who you love. And you don't have to avoid him anymore, if you don't want to." Albus gave a small smile. Rosie looked at him in astonishment.

"Of course I do!" She insisted, "After what he did to you, how can I ever forgive that?"

"Because I have." Albus replied. If he was being honest with himself he really hadn't. He and Jeremy would never be best buds, but he couldn't deny that the boy had tried to make it up to Albus. Jeremy hadn't bothered Albus once since and had even begun chatting casually with Albus in the dorm.

Rosie clearly didn't believe him either. "Oh please, you haven't even forgiven Scorpius yet, and he didn't do half as bad as Jeremy."

"From my point of view Scorpius has done much worse than Jeremy. If only because he's too stupid to learn from his mistakes, and keeps on making the exact same ones." Albus said angrily. Then he realized that they were supposed to be talking about Rose. "Besides the only thing I care about is how Jeremy treats you. I know that he cares about you, and you obviously care about him. I think you should give him another chance."

Rosie's eyes filled with tears again, but this time there was a smile on her face. "Are you really sure?"

"Of course." Albus replied quickly. "Sure, I wish you weren't in love with such a git, but hey, James is a git too, and we're never getting rid of him."

Albus smiled when he heard Rosie laugh. All that really mattered was that she was happy.

They sat in contented silence for a few moments before Rosie spoke again.

"So, speaking of being in love with gits."

Albus sighed heavily. He would be lying if convincing Rosie to get back together with Jeremy hadn't made him reconsider Scorpius' offer to go to Hogsmeade.

"It's much easier to help other people with their problems than face your own." Albus answered.

Rosie smiled, "Well then let me just repeat your own advice. You can't help who you love. And if the way he has been staring at you for the past two weeks is any indicator I think that Scorpius is very sorry about what he did."

"Yeah well he better be." Albus grumbled.

Rosie laughed lightly and gave Albus a kiss on the cheek. Then she looked around nervously. "I think I better go find Jeremy before dinner." She said finally. She got up and nervously smoothed her skirt and hair. "How do I look?"

Her eyes were still red and puffy, but they looked more alive than when Albus had come in.

"You're beautiful." He said.

They walked out of the girl's dormitory together and down the stairs. Lily, Grace and Amy had all been waiting and jumped up when they saw the pair descend the staircase.

Albus left Rosie to tell them the news and instead turned to go back up to his own room.

Entering the boy dorm Albus immediately wanted to fall into bed and spend the rest of the day in it, but when he noticed who else was in the room, he changed his mind.

"Hey, get up." He said, approaching Jeremy's bed, where the Gryffindor lay face down, still completely dressed.

Jeremy shifted when he heard Albus' voice and Albus noticed that Rosie hadn't been the only one crying this afternoon. Jeremy looked terrible, and Albus couldn't help but enjoy it just a little.

Jeremy didn't say anything, just looked at Albus as if to say, "Are you happy now?"

"Pull yourself together." Albus said harshly. "Rosie's down stairs and she's looking for you, you better not keep her waiting."

Jeremy slowly pulled himself up, "Great," He mumbled, "Cant wait to get dumped again."

"She's not dumping you, you prick." Albus rolled his eyes at the other boy, "At least not today."

Suddenly it was like Jeremy had taken a vial of Felix Felicis. He straightened and his entire face lit up.

"What? But- why? Did you? But, why?" He sputtered, staring at Albus in amazement.

"If you're asking why I would vouch for a guy like you, trust me, I have no idea. But miraculously you make my cousin happy. Plus, I really don't think you're such a terrible person. So don't prove me wrong, or you'll regret it." Albus threatened.

Jeremy didn't seem at all put off by Albus' threat and instead pulled the smaller boy into a crushing hug.

"Thank you so much!" He said. He released Albus and as if realizing what he had just done became uneasy again. "I just want you to know, that I really am sorry." He said sheepishly. "About everything."

"Yeah I know." Albus said, "No get out of here already."

Jeremy grinned and rushed out the door, leaving Albus alone.

Albus sighed loudly and walked the three steps necessary to fall on his own bed.

Laying against the soft sheets he wanted nothing more than to drift off to sleep, but after almost twenty minutes sleep still wouldn't come. Albus couldn't shake the thought of Rosie and Jeremy off somewhere sharing a happy reunion and he couldn't stop wishing that he could have a happy reunion of his own.

Albus frowned against his pillow. This wasn't fair. He was supposed to be punishing Scorpius, so why did Albus feel like he was losing as well? Sure, Scorpius had fucked up, but that didn't change the fact that Albus wanted him. Albus could act like a Slytherin all he wanted, but it didn't change the fact that in his heart he was a Gryffindor, and waiting and scheming was not his nature.

Albus pulled himself off the bed and glanced at the clock on the wall. Dinner had just started. Albus thought for a moment before quickly standing and leaving the dorm, headed for the Great Hall.

* * *

><p>"What an idiot." Tess said.<p>

"Seriously, I can't believe what I'm seeing." Stephanie added, glaring across the Great Hall.

"I hope Albus is okay." Wendy said nervously.

Rose Potter and Jeremy Astor had walked into dinner that evening hand in hand and it have been the talk of the entire school throughout the meal. The majority of the student body had also noticed the absence of one Albus Potter, cousin of Rose and alleged victim of Jeremy. Scorpius was beginning to wonder if the Hogwarts rumor mill would even be able to function if Albus wasn't around.

Scorpius had told his friends about his failed attempt to invite Albus to Hogsmeade. For once they actually seemed a little sympathetic. They had all seen how Scorpius was trying to make up for New Year's, but it seemed that Albus wasn't going to budge anytime soon.

"Look." Sullivan said suddenly. They all looked up and a moment later a murmur spread throughout the hall. Albus Potter entered the Great Hall. He immediately looked over towards the Slytherin table and Scorpius and his friends took a collective gasp as Albus bypassed the Gryffindor table and headed straight for them.

Scorpius felt his heart beat faster in his chest with every step the Gryffindor took. Finally after what felt like a century Albus stopped behind Scorpius' seat. Scorpius turned around so that he was facing Albus. They had the attention of the entire Great Hall by that point, but Albus didn't seem to care.

"Listen," He said. The boy's voice was a little breathless, as if he too were nervous. "I thought about your invite to Hogsmeade and I thought of a compromise."

Scorpius' stomach began to flutter when he realized Albus wasn't saying no. He tried not to let his excitement show on his face.

"Alright, what is it?" He asked.

"I'll go with you, as long as everyone else comes too." He said gesturing to the rest of his friends.

"Yes!" Scorpius heard the unanimous reply from behind him. He glared and spun around to face his friends. "He was asking me." He spat out. Turning back around he looked back up at Albus.

"Sounds fine." He said, "But Wendy isn't allowed to hog you. That's not fair."

Albus gave a small smile and Scorpius felt his heart beat even faster.

"Deal. See you Saturday then." And then he was gone, walking back towards the Gryffindor table with the eyes of the entire school watching him go.

Scorpius spun back around to face the smirking faces of his friends.

"What are you all looking at?" He asked with feigned annoyance.

"Don't fuck it up." Steph said sternly.

"Shove off." Scorpius said playfully. She shook her head and then they all went back to their dinner.

* * *

><p>Stay tuned :D<p> 


	24. Chapter 24

This is my first chapter that's all Scorpius' POV. I think I need to give him some more depth and back-story because you pretty much all seem to hate him right now. Oops :P Tell me what you think!

* * *

><p>It was Friday night in the Slytherin common room and it was uncharacteristically quiet. Most students had already wandered up to bed, wanting to be well rested for the Hogsmeade trip in the morning. The first and second years were hanging around, mostly complaining about how they couldn't go to Hogsmeade and also appreciating the extra plush couches that the older students usually booted them out of.<p>

In one of the darker more secluded corners of the room Scorpius and Sullivan sat in silence. Sullivan had his head buried in a book and hadn't lifted it in more than an hour. Scorpius had the Daily Prophet spread out in front of him, and he was poring over an article for possibly the 30th time that day. Reaching the end of the article he sighed and leaned back in his chair. Scorpius had been surprised when the post had arrived that morning and his father's face had been on the front of the paper. Stealing a copy from a third year Scorpius read along with every other student in the Great Hall about how his father had sold his million galleon company only the night before and was now happily retired. The few quotes of his father had explained that the merging and selling of his company had been in the works for almost a year and that Draco Malfoy was excited for the opportunity to spend more time with his wife and less time in the office.

Scorpius had only perused the paper in the Hall in front of all the other students, doing his best to look unaffected by the news. His father had said that the sale had been planned for months; of course Scorpius would have known about it. Except that he hadn't. Scorpius' father hadn't breathed a word of this to him. He hadn't seen his father at all since the summer, they barely communicated as it was. Sure, Scorpius sent a letter home now and again, but those were mostly for his mother, and the only letters he ever got from his father were ones admonishing his grades and attendance.

Scorpius knew that his father didn't think too highly of him, but keeping something this huge from his only heir showed that Draco Malfoy didn't respect his son in the slightest. Scorpius had always assumed that one day he would begin working at his father's company and eventually take it over. In one fell swoop his father had pulled that rug out from under him and Scorpius suddenly felt very unsure of what he was supposed to do next. Was his father testing him? Was this some sort of giant lesson in teaching your son how to stand on his own two feet?

"No matter how many times you read that it's not going to change you know." Stephanie walked up behind him and draped her arms over his shoulders. She rested her chin on the top of his head.

"I thought you went to bed a while ago." Scorpius said, folding up the paper. A moment later he thought better and instead crumpled it up and threw it towards one of the fireplaces. He missed by a few feet so he pulled out his wand and sent it into the flames. Scorpius felt oddly satisfied as he watched the pages burn in front of him.

"I thought that maybe I should check on you." She said quietly, "I guess I was right."

"You don't need to check on me." Scorpius tried to reassure her. "I'm fine. So my dad's an ass, what else is new?"

Scorpius heard the tension in his voice and sighed. He didn't even know why he tried to keep things from Steph. She saw through everything he did.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" She asked, changing the subject.

Scorpius would have rather talked about his father than his chaperoned date to Hogsmeade. After Monday morning Albus spoke barely ten words to Scorpius all week. Scorpius got the strange feeling that Hogsmeade tomorrow was just a way for Albus to hang out with the rest of the Slytherins, who he clearly liked much better than he liked Scorpius at the moment. Scorpius had no idea how to treat the Gryffindor. Did Albus want him to back up and give the Gryffindor time to forgive him. Or did Albus want him to pretend nothing had happened so they could move past it? Should he grovel? Make a joke about it? Or should he just pull Albus into an alley and snog the boy with much more enthusiasm than he had ever given Beatrix.

"It's going to be okay." Stephanie told him. "You just need to get some rest and put all this stuff with her dad behind you."

Scorpius knew she was right. Last time Scorpius had been angry with his father he had taken it out on Albus and he couldn't do that this time. If he fucked tomorrow up then he was pretty certain that he could forget any chance he might have had with Albus. This scared Scorpius, because usually all he did was fuck things up. He didn't want that to happen this time, he couldn't exactly express why he was so invested in Albus, but he did know that the past few weeks had been torturous, and he needed it to end.

"Alright." Scorpius sighed. "Though who knows if I'll be able to sleep." He stood and Steph smiled at him.

"Sully, you coming?" Scorpius asked looking back at his roommate who still hadn't looked away from his book.

"No, I'm almost done. I think I'll finish it before bed." He responded without looking up. Scorpius just shook his head. There were easily 200 more pages in the enormous text, but Scorpius figured there was no point in arguing. He waved goodbye to Steph before glancing back at the fire where he had thrown the Daily Prophet and saw that nothing was left but ash. He then began down the hallway to the boy dorms, and off to bed.

* * *

><p>"Shut up Jaysen!" Scorpius said. He had already told the other boy to shut it ten times since breakfast. If Jaysen didn't stop soon he was going to hex him into next week. Jaysen was taking his chaperone duties very seriously, and had spent all morning laying down the rules to Scorpius, telling him what he could and couldn't do on his 'date'. Scorpius was beginning to wonder if he should even call it that. Albus had eaten breakfast at the Gryffindor table. Tess, Wendy and Steph had gone to fetch him while the rest of them waited in the main entrance to the castle. It was taking them a rather long time, but Scorpius just figured it was another one of their stupid little tricks. The longer they kept him waiting the more nervous he got. What if Albus told them he had changed his mind? What if they had decided to go without him?<p>

"Hello boys!" Wendy called, appearing around the corner and thankfully Scorpius noticed that Albus was right behind her.

As they got closer Scorpius smiled and waved at the Gryffindor, feeling stupid immediately after. Albus didn't wave back but he did smile, which allowed Scorpius to relax a little bit. He noticed Albus was dressed in muggle fashion and he could only assume that it was yet another result of his shopping trip the girls. He wore a shirt with a large lion sketched on it. Over it was a hoodie and a vest. Scorpius noticed approvingly that Albus was wearing the jeans he had been wearing on the train. Scorpius smiled, at least this way if Albus didn't want to walk with him he could walk behind and have something nice to look at.

"You look nice." Scorpius said once the Gryffindor was close enough.

"Thanks." Albus said with a small smile.

The rest of his friends just stood around awkwardly, watching them. Scorpius could only imagine that the day was going to get much more awkward as it went on, but this is what Albus had wanted.

"Should we go then?" Scorpius said finally.

"Yes!" Jaysen said quickly, clearly not being able to handle the atmosphere either. He set off, leading the group out of the castle towards Hogsmeade.

As they began walking Scorpius sidled up to Albus.

"Thanks for coming." He said shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Your welcome." Albus replied quietly. They drifted back into silence.

"How was your week?" Scorpius asked a minute later.

"Good. How was yours?" Albus responded.

"It was alright. I was really looking forward to today, so the week went by really slow." Scorpius smiled at the other boy.

"Yeah?" Albus said back, smiling a little as well.

"Well yeah," Scorpius swallowed, "Were you looking forward to it?"

Albus' smile faded and turned into more of a smirk. "I dunno maybe."

"Maybe?" Scorpius asked, dejected.

"Yeah, maybe." Albus confirmed. Then he walked ahead and began to talk to Tess and Andy. Scorpius sighed, this was going to be harder than he thought.

Their first stop in Hogsmeade was Honeydukes. Their first stop was always Honeydukes because Sully refused to go anywhere else first.

"Saving the best for last is for idiots who cant fathom their own mortality." He always said. "You should always do the best as soon as possible because you might drop dead after."

Mostly he just really liked candy.

After Honeydukes the seven of them walked around, picking up this and that at various shops. They went to the small bakery for lunch and grabbed pastries and muffins.

Scorpius tried to buy Albus' pastries for him but this only seemed to offend the boy. In fact every time Scorpius did anything it seemed to offend Albus or make him unhappy somehow. Stephanie pulled him aside at one point.

"You're not doing too well." She said crossing her arms and looking at him disapprovingly.

"I'm trying my best!" He said angrily. "I don't know what he wants from me!"

"He's not a girl Scor. He doesn't want you to tell him that he looks pretty and buy him things. He just wants you to be honest with him, have you tried that yet?"

In the next store, which sold specialty quills Scorpius approached Albus again.

"I heard they have a new quill that will take notes even if you're not holding it." He said pointing at a display across the store.

Albus scoffed, "Figures you would be interested in that one."

"Of course," Scorpius laughed, "That way I can sleep through class."

"But you would still actually have to show up to class." Albus pointed out, "Which you don't." Scorpius just shrugged and Albus rolled his eyes.

Scorpius figured now was as good of a time as ever, he had Albus' attention at least.

"Listen Albus, I wanted to tell you something." He said nervously.

Albus' attitude changed, he looked more seriously at Scorpius, "What is it?"

"I want to apologize for what happened on New Year's and for the way I treated you. You didn't deserve it and I was being extremely cruel. I promise I wont do something like that again."

Albus was silent for a while after Scorpius spoke.

"You shouldn't make promises that you cant keep." He said finally.

"I know that." Scorpius responded seriously, "But I'm going to keep this one."

Albus stared at him for a while before nodding, "Okay then."

After that Albus seemed a little kinder towards Scorpius. He laughed at the blonde's jokes and stopped ignoring him as much as earlier in the day.

Later that afternoon when they finally sat down in the Three Broomsticks Albus took the seat next to Scorpius.

They spent the next few hours ordering rounds of Butterbeer and talking about everything they could think of. Apparently Sullivan had been talking to a girl in Ravenclaw quiet often, though he insisted it was nothing. Albus even told them all about the signal that his cousin had come up with to tell him when Scorpius was staring at him in the Great Hall.  
>"I have all the bruises to prove it too." Albus laughed loudly with the rest of his friends while Scorpius scowled, too embarrassed to respond.<p>

Finally the topic shifted to Scorpius' father in the newspaper the day before.

"That must have been exciting." Albus said, oblivious to the tension at the rest of the table.  
>"Yeah, it should be nice. Maybe he'll take more vacations this summer so I don't have to see him." Scorpius laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes.<p>

Stephanie quickly changed the subject, but Albus was still watching Scorpius carefully.

* * *

><p>Finally after they all had finished their fourth round Wendy looked up at the clock on the wall of the pub.<br>"Is it already 4? We should get back to the castle to get dinner soon." No one looked very excited at the prospect of going back to the castle, but they slowly began gathering their coats.

"Oh wait, there's a book I want to look for." Albus said suddenly. "Anyone have any interest in going to the bookshop."

"I'll go with you." Scorpius said quickly. Of course he didn't really need anything from the bookstore, but couldn't see another opportunity for him to be alone with Albus.

Albus looked around the table for any more takers, "Sullivan?" Albus said finally, "They might have that apparation book you were talking about."

"Oh..." Sullivan said glancing at Scorpius, who sent him a sharp look, "Yeah, I actually already ordered that in the post." He said smiling. "You too have fun."

Albus looked nervous as he stood and began to bundle back up.

The two boys left the pub and began walking towards the library. They were completely silent and Scorpius realized he would have to say something.

"What book is it that you are looking for."

This seemed to be the right question because Albus perked up. "It's all about the early development of centaurs and their habits and abilities while they grow."

Scorpius was trying not to be rude but he couldn't hide the look of confusion on his face.

Albus laughed, "Hagrid helped deliver some centaurs last month in the forest. I thought he might like it, he sees himself as a sort of god-parent now. He always goes in and visits them. It's pretty cute, he said I could go see them soon as long as no teachers know, because you know we aren't allowed to go into-"

Albus cut off suddenly. Scorpius looked around in confusion before he noticed that they happened to be in front of Madame Puddifoots. Inside Scorpius spotted Rose Weasley and Jeremy Astor sitting next to each other at a table, snogging and apparently making up for lost time because it didn't look as if they were going to stop any time soon.

"Albus..." Scorpius said carefully.

Albus didn't reply but strode off again in the direction of the bookstore. Scorpius had to jog to catch up to him.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked when he finally caught up to the brunette.

"Yeah. Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Albus responded tersely.

"Uh, I dunno maybe because your best friend is back with an abusive asshole who hates gays."

Albus shook his head, "I was the one who told her to do it." He said quietly.

"What?!" Scorpius reached out and grabbed Albus' arm making the boy stop. "Why would you do that?"

Albus stopped, but stared down at the ground. "I dunno." He responded quietly. "She was so upset, I just wanted to make her feel better. I thought I had forgiven him, but now every time I see them together I wanna hurl."

Scorpius sighed. "You know, you can be too fucking selfless sometimes. Think of yourself a little more often will you?"

"But doesn't Rosie deserve to be happy too?" Albus asked looking up at the blond.

"Yeah well maybe, but not at the expense of your happiness." Scorpius said, frustrated that he would even have to explain something this simple to Albus. "You come first, okay?"

Albus nodded glumly. "That's something you're really good at isn't it? Putting yourself first."

Scorpius couldn't argue with that. "True," he said with a smirk, "but you don't need to reach expert level anytime soon. Maybe start with self-preservation level."

"You know, it was after I forgave Jeremy that I decided I could forgive you too." Albus told him.

Scorpius smiled, "Well then I guess that something good did come out of it." He grabbed Albus' hand and pulled it forward, "Come on, let's go get that book."

Albus didn't pull his hand away and the two walked into the bookstore together.

Once inside, Albus went to talk to the owner to see if the book he wanted was in stock. Scorpius began perusing the shelves. One title in particular caught his attention. "The Expert's Cauldron: A Guide To Progressive Potion Brewing". Scorpius picked it up and began flipping through the pages. They were detailed with lists of ingredients, and their effects when prepared in different ways and combined with different things. He became so absorbed that he didn't notice Albus was next to him until the boy spoke.

"What's that?"

Scorpius jumped, closed the book and quickly put it back on the shelf.

"Nothing." He said, "Did you get your book?"

"No, but they ordered it. Said I can come pick it up in a week." Albus grabbed the potions book off of the shelf. He examined the cover and then flipped through a few pages.

"Woah, this is really advanced stuff." He said, his eyes widening.

Scorpius began to feel embarrassed. Of course it was too advanced for him, just because he liked potions didn't mean he was any good at it. He hadn't gone to class too often this term, which didn't help.

"I was just looking at it." He said finally.

Albus looked up at him, "You should get it."

"What?" Scorpius laughed, "No way, why would I?"

"You like potions don't you? It looks interesting. I could never understand it, but you'd be good at it."

"How could you possibly know that?" Scorpius asked still laughing.

"I can just tell." Albus thrust the book into Scorpius' hands, "Get it."

Scopius looked down at the book and laughed bitterly as a thought crossed his mind, "I guess I am in the market for a new career."

Albus looked at his quizzically. "This is about the Daily Prophet article isn't it?" He asked.

Scorpius was startled, but looking at Albus' face he realized he wouldn't be able to fool the other boy. Besides, Stephanie had said that all Albus wanted was for Scorpius to be honest with him.

"My dad didn't tell me about it." Scorpius admitted finally. "His one son, and he didn't think I deserved to know that he was giving up his life's work and my future career path."

"Maybe he wants to create a path for yourself." Albus responded.

"Yeah, well I little notice would have been appreciated." Scorpius replied bitterly. "He said he had known about it for a year!"

"Yeah that's horrible." Albus frowned, "I think honesty is really important in a family. I know I always have trouble keeping things from my parents…" Albus trailed off and Scorpius had a feeling he knew what the Gryffindor was talking about.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much." Scorpius replied, "You are a really, really good son. I'm the fuck up in my family. I lie to my parents enough, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they lie to me as well."

Albus nodded, "Maybe you should tell your dad that. Admit that you know you've made mistakes and then call him out on his. Maybe if you both apologize you can move forward together." Albus looked so hopeful but Scorpius could only laugh.

"I can tell you've never met my father Albus. He's nothing like yours. We don't talk, and we definitely don't apologize and tell each other about our feelings."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Maybe if you two both weren't so stubborn you wouldn't have these problems. I say make the first effort, your dad is sure to follow." Albus pointed to the potions book that Scorpius still had in his hands, "And get the book."

Scorpius did as he was told; he walked up to the counter and purchased the book. While the owner was carefully wrapping it in paper Scorpius couldn't help but stare at Albus.

"What?" Albus asked nervously.

"I'm just glad I can talk to you again." Scorpius admitted. "You give really good advice."

Albus blushed slightly, "Yeah, well I like being able to talk to you too. I can't tell a lot of stuff to other people, so I appreciate you listening."

Scorpius smiled and Albus smiled back. Behind them the owner of the bookstore cleared his throat to inform Scorpius that his book was ready. They took the book and walked out of the store. Feeling brave, Scorpius reached out and grabbed Albus' hand. His heart began pounding when the Gryffindor didn't pull away.

As they approached the Three Broomsticks Scorpius saw that everyone was waiting for them outside.

There were many raised eyebrows as the two approached hand in hand.

"Do I even want to know what happened in that book shop?" Steph asked with a smirk.

"Scorpius bought a book about potions." Albus told them.

After that his friends were so busy teasing him about purchasing a book that they forgot to tease him and Albus.

The walk back to the castle was much more comfortable than the walk to Hogsmeade. The group was in high spirits after their day in town. They joked and laughed the whole way. Albus and Scorpius walked close together and every once and a while would bump into each other. This caused them both to look at the other and share a small smile.

Scorpius was very aware of the eyes of all of his friends on them, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Somehow he had done it, he had gotten back in Albus' good graces. The feeling of Albus' hand in his was making the Slytherin happier than he could have imagined.

When they reached the castle Scorpius realized that Albus would be eating at the Gryffindor table. Their date had just started, and it finally felt like a real date, he couldn't let it end already. Something needed to be done, and quickly.

"I'm not really that hungry." He said as they approached the large front doors to the castle.

"I think I'm just going to go back to the dorms. I want to read my new book."

Not a moment later Albus spoke up, "I'll go with you. I wanted to look at it, I only saw a few pages in the store."

Scorpius' heart raced.

"Great." He responded calmly, hoping that his hand wasn't sweating profusely and giving him away.

The looks on his friends' faces were priceless. They all looked ready burst into laughter.

"Let me get this straight." Andrew said, "You're both going to the dorms to look at a book? Yeah, good luck with that."

They all filed into the castle and waved goodbye as Scorpius and Albus passed the Great Hall.

Wendy waved, "Have fun reading." She laughed.

* * *

><p>To the two boys credit they did look at the book. Both seated on Scorpius bed, they unwrapped the book from its brown paper and began to flip through the pages pointing at things that they each thought were interesting. While they skimmed the different potions Albus began leaning in closer to Scorpius. Then Scorpius rested a hand on Albus' thigh. Soon enough the book laid forgotten on the floor and the two were eagerly snogging each other.<p>

Scorpius ran his fingers through Albus' new hair, loving the velvety soft hairs that had been buzzed short.

Albus deepened the kiss, pushing against Scorpius' chest. The Slytherin lost his balance and tumbled back onto his bed, pulling the Gryffindor down with him. They continued like that for a few minutes before Albus seemed to realize that he was straddling the Slytherin. He pulled away quickly and tried to move, but Scorpius held him in place.

"I like this view." Scorpius said with a smile. He had to admit that there was something incredibly arousing about seeing the Gryffindor on top of him.

"You're not so bad yourself." Albus replied trying to catch his breath. Scorpius propped himself up on his elbows and Albus leaned back down. The two shared a few soft kisses.

"I'm glad I forgave you." Albus said with a grin.

"I'm glad you forgave me too." Scorpius replied. It was then that Scorpius saw the glint of Albus' earrings. Not behind able to resist, he quickly sat up and kissed his way up the boy's neck until he reached Albus' ear. He grabbed the lobe with his teeth and pulled it gently. Albus didn't complain so Scorpius continued sucking and biting, swirling the earrings around with his tongue.

"Scor…" Albus complained a minute later. Scorpius noted the needy tone in the other boy's voice and he quickly brought their mouths back together in another kiss.

After a few more minutes of snogging Scorpius' hands began to roam lower and lower down the Gryffindor's back until he reached the waistband of his jeans. Attempted to slip his hands under the fabric Scorpius noticed with frustration that Albus' new jeans were too tight.  
>Well then they will just have to go, Scorpius thought cheerfully. He brought his hands around to the front of the jeans and began to attempt unbuttoning them when Albus abruptly broke the kiss.<p>

"Wait." Albus said nervously, pushing Scorpius' hands away. "I-I don't want to do that today."

Scorpius frowned, he hadn't expected Albus to resist. They had gone farther than this before. "What don't you want exactly?" Scorpius asked.

"I just want to take it slow." Albus mumbled. Scorpius sighed and shook his head.

"Alright," he said calmly, "Above the belt today, is that alright?"

Albus nodded and so Scorpius reached down, lifted up his shirt and pulled it over his head.

"Now you." He said smirking at Albus. The Gryffindor's eyes had gone wide as he took in Scorpius' naked torso. Albus carefully reached down and pulled off his own shirt. Scorpius pulled the boy forward and pressed their chests together while kissing down Albus' collarbone, but before he started sucking too hard Albus pulled away again.

"No way. No more hickies where people can see them." He covered the spot on his neck where Scorpius had been sucking. Scorpius groaned, Albus was sure making a lot of rules.

"Fine," Scorpius responded, grinning. A moment later he flipped them over. Albus now lay beneath him looking suddenly uneasy. "I guess I will have to leave them where people won't see them."

With that Scorpius began kissing down Albus' chest. The Gryffindor shivered lightly with every lick and nip. Scorpius had reached the boy's stomach when an extremely loud grumbling came from beneath.

Albus gasped, but Scorpius just burst into laughter.

"I'm sorry! We skipped dinner and I'm just a little hungry." He said quickly.

"More than a little it sounds like," replied Scorpius, getting up and still chuckling.

"Where are you going?" Albus asked as he watched the Slytherin put his shirt back on.

"Food obviously." Scorpius said, "Nothing kills the mood like an empty stomach."

Albus laughed lightly, clearly pleased that Scorpius wasn't angry with him. After Albus redressed the two walked out of the dorm together.

Walking into the common room Scorpius recognized some familiar faces.

"Now I wonder what you could all being waiting for." He said as they approached the group of 6 all sitting in a circle around the main fireplace.

"Waiting?" Stephanie replied sweetly. "Why we weren't waiting for anything."

"Right." Scorpius rolled his eyes but couldn't help grinning. "Well Albus and I are going to get dinner."

The look on Steph's face demanded details and Scorpius sent her back at look that said 'later'.

Albus said goodbye to all the Slytherins and then followed Scorpius out of the common room and into the hall.

"Have you ever been to the kitchens before?" Scorpius asked as they began walking.

"Only once," Albus admitted, "But my cousin Hugo goes all the time. I swear he eats ten meals a day." Albus began to tell the story of the time when Hugo had eaten an entire blackberry pie off of the windowsill at his grandparents house. His grandmother had left it on the counter to cool and when she was out of the room Hugo had some how managed to get it down and devour the entire thing. He had been two years old at the time.

By the time Albus had finished his story they had reached the entrance to the kitchens. Scorpius tickled the pear on a painting of a bowl of fruit and a moment later a doorknob appeared in its place.

The boys entered and were immediately bombarded by house elves.

"Do you sirs need anything?" One squeaked.

"A cup of tea? Milk? Brandy?" Asked another.

"Maybe a nice cobbler." Suggested a third.

Scorpius thought for a moment, "I would like a blackberry pie."

Albus grinned.

* * *

><p>The boys spent a long time the kitchens. The elves kept bringing them different dishes and every time the boys got up to leave the elves would insist that they sit back down to try one more thing. The boys finally got away but not before they were both extremely stuffed.<p>

When they left the kitchens Scorpius began to follow Albus back to the Gryffindor common rooms. It didn't take Albus long to notice.

"Um, Scorpius, the Slytherin dorms are that way," The brunette said, pointing behind them.

"I know. I'm walking you back." Scorpius reasoned.

"You don't have to do that." Albus quickly replied.

"I want to." Scorpius said. He reached down and grabbed Albus' hand, "Most of our day together was spent in the company of some very loud and obnoxious people and I want some time with you to myself."

"I seem to recall spending some time just the two of us." Albus responded, a small smile on his face.

Scorpius smiled too. The two walked down the corridor in silence.

Scorpius noticed that the halls were entirely empty. It had to be near curfew, and walking all the way up to the Gryffindor tower and then all the way back down to Slytherin dungeons would most likely make him late, but he couldn't leave Albus just yet. He couldn't describe what had happened today but being with Albus felt like someone was sending electricity through his body, and not only when they were snogging. Whenever he heard Albus' laugh or saw his smile. Whenever he heard Albus tell yet another story about his crazy, large family. He wanted to be around the boy all the time. He wanted to continue to learn everything he could about Albus. He wanted to confide in the Gryffindor and let Albus confide in him as well. Scorpius knew that the last thing he wanted to happen was to lose Albus again. Scorpius unintentionally gripped Albus' hand tighter.

"What is it?" Albus asked, looking up at Scorpius.

Scorpius wondered if he should tell the Gryffindor what he had been thinking about. Instead he just replied, "Nothing."

When they reached the entrance to the Gryffindor common room Scorpius pulled Albus in for one last kiss goodbye.

"Can I see you tomorrow?" Scorpius asked as the broke apart.

Albus looked up at the Slytherin, confused. "Tomorrow? But we spent the whole day together."

Scorpius just nodded and Albus blushed.

"I have a lot of homework to catch up on, but maybe after dinner." The Gryffindor finally responded.

"After dinner it is then."

Scorpius waited until Albus had disappeared behind the portrait before turning around to leave. It was lucky for the Slytherin that the halls were so deserted because if anyone had happened upon Scorpius that night they would have caught him grinning to himself like an idiot all the way back to his dorm.


End file.
